Bear run persists at Colombo bourse

The Colombo stock market saw the painful bear run continuing yesterday amidst lacklustre investor interest.

The benchmark ASPI dipped by 0.2% but that was enough to languish at three weeks low whilst the S&P SL20 was almost flat. Turnover sank to one month low of Rs. 1.4 billion involving 62.5 million shares. Foreigners reverted to net sellers.

Asia Securities said indices continued its downward momentum for the fourth consecutive session as investors remained on the sidelines amidst the ongoing earnings season. SUN (-2.3%), AEL (-1.6%) and VONE (-0.9%) dragged down the index while HPWR (+7.3%), MGT (+2.4%), BIL (+1.6%) and TJL (+1.3%) recorded price gains. SPEN (-7 points), RICH (-7 points), and SAMP (-5 points) came in as the biggest laggards on the ASPI. Overall, 67 counters recorded price gains while 93 settled with losses.

Turnover was led by JKH (Rs. 298 million), MGT (Rs. 165 million), and TJL (Rs. 82 million).

Asia also said foreigners recorded a net outflow of Rs. 94.7 million. Net foreign buying topped in LFIN at Rs. 14.6 million and selling topped in JKH at Rs. 48.4 million.

First Capital said the bourse halted its activities on the red zone today for the 4th consecutive session as investor sentiment remained bearish due to ongoing uncertainties in the country. With the sideways movement, index experienced a complete downtrend closing the ASPI at 12,259 losing 32 points (c. -0.26%) marking its 3-week low as SPEN, RICH, SAMP, MELS and SUN negatively contributed to the index. However, significant interest on MGT was observed backed by strong YoY performance shown on earning during 4QFY24. With a sluggish trading day, turnover dipped to nearly a one-month low, marking a significant 44.4% decrease from the month’s average. 

The Capital Goods sector led turnover at 30%, followed by the Banking and Consumer Durable sectors jointly contributing to 34% of overall turnover.  NDB Securities said high net worth and institutional investor participation were noted in Hayleys Fabric, Teejay Lanka and John Keells Holdings. Mixed interest was observed in Browns Investments, Resus Energy and Hatton National Bank whilst retail interest was noted in Renuka Agri Foods, Co-operative Insurance and LOLC Finance. 

The capital Goods sector was the top contributor to the market turnover whilst the sector index edged down by 0.08%. The share price of John Keells Holdings increased by one Rupee to Rs. 203.

The consumer Durables and Apparel sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover whilst the sector index increased by 1.45%. The share price of Hayleys Fabric gained one Rupee to Rs. 43. The share price of Teejay Lanka moved up by 50 cents to Rs. 39.

Hatton National Bank and Resus Energy were also included among the top turnover contributors. The share price of Hatton National Bank recorded a loss of 25 cents to Rs. 195. The share price of Resus Energy appreciated by Rs. 1.60 to Rs. 23.60.

Separately CT Holdings Company and Cargills (Ceylon) Company declared interim dividends of Rs. 8.50 and Rs. 10.50 respectively.