Colombo stock market begins new week with losses

Tuesday, 11 February 2025 01:41 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Colombo stock market suffered a fresh setback yesterday with indices dipping sharply, though turnover remained healthy.

The active S&P SL20 declined by 0.65% and the benchmark ASPI fell 1.01%.

Turnover yesterday was Rs. 2.07 billion involving 78.56 million shares.

Foreign participation in market activity remained at subdued levels, with foreigners closing as net sellers.

First Capital said trading activity at the Colombo Stock Exchange showed a subdued performance yesterday, with the market experiencing a mix of early optimism followed by persistent volatility and a general downward trend as the session wore on. The ASPI closed in the red at 16,566, marking a decline of 168 points and ending the positive two-day streak. CINS, LOLC, and JKH were the main negative contributors, exerting downward pressure on the index.

On the flip side, SAMP, GUAR, and VONE helped prop up the market as the top positive contributors.

Notably, the number of negative contributors was nearly three times that of the positive ones. Turnover remained relatively low, amounting to Rs. 2.1 billion. While this was slightly higher than the previous session, it still fell below the monthly average of Rs. 5.9 billion.

In terms of sectoral turnover contributions, the Banking sector led with a 29% share, followed closely by the combined contributions of the Capital Goods and Food, Beverage and Tobacco sectors, which accounted for 33% of total turnover.

NDB Securities said high net worth and institutional investor participation was noted in Amana Bank, Ambeon Capital, and Hemas Holdings. Mixed interest was observed in Hatton National Bank, Browns Investments, and Access Engineering, whilst retail interest was noted in UB Finance Company, Industrial Asphalts, and SMB Leasing nonvoting.

The Banking sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to Amana Bank and Hatton National Bank) whilst the sector index lost 0.19%. The share price of Amana Bank closed flat at Rs. 25. The share price of Hatton National Bank lost Rs. 2 to close at Rs. 335. The Capital Goods sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to Access Engineering) whilst the sector index decreased by 1.39%. The share price of Access Engineering declined by Rs. 0.80 to close at Rs. 40.60.

Browns Investments and Melstacorp were also included amongst the top turnover contributors. The share price of Browns Investments moved down by Rs. 0.20 to close at Rs. 8.50. The share price of Melstacorp recorded a loss of Rs. 0.50 to close at Rs. 129.50.

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