Downward trend persists at Colombo stock market

The Colombo stock market’s downward trend persisted amidst negative investor sentiment and low trading volume. The active S&P SL20 declined by 1.2% and the benchmark ASPI by 0.5%. Turnover was Rs. 625 million involving 43.4 million shares.

Asia Securities said the indices closed in red amidst moderate turnover due to price losses in EXPO (-3.0%), JKH (-1.3%), LOLC (-1.7%), and BIL (-1.9%).The breadth of the market was negative with 70 price gainers and 111 decliners.

Turnover was led by JKH (Rs. 148mn due to Rs. 123mn worth of net foreign selling), and LLUB (Rs. 98mn).  Foreigners recorded a net outflow of Rs. 88.7mn. Net foreign buying topped in MELS.N at Rs. 28.1mn.

First Capital said the Bourse extended price declines and dull sentiment as retailers preferred to book profits on selected counters and were likely to stay away from the market awaiting clear direction on the interest rate movement.

It said although the index slightly edged up in the beginning, ballooning selling pressure on blue chip counters (mainly EXPO, JKH and LOLC) further dragged the index down to close the day at near 2-week low of 8,780, losing 43 points. On the other hand, CARS continued to gain sharply following the announcement of delisting its subsidiaries- SHAL, SELI, GOOD, and INDO whilst investor interest enticed on CARG as the company announced its second interim dividend of Rs. 8.50 per share.

As the retail participation continued to be on the sidelines, turnover remained low at Rs. 624.9Mn (-22% lower cf. monthly average turnover of Rs. 803.4Mn). Off-board transactions of JKH accounted for 16% of the overall turnover (752,396 shares at Rs. 135.25 per share).

NDB Securities said high net worth and institutional investor participation was noted in John Keells Holdings and Melstacorp. Mixed interest was observed in Chevron Lubricants, Lanka IOC and Commercial Bank whilst retail interest was noted in Nation Lanka Finance, Industrial Asphalts and Browns Investments.

The Capital Goods sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to John Keells Holdings) whilst the sector index lost 0.99%. The share price of John Keells Holdings decreased by Rs 1.75 to Rs 136.75.

The Food, Beverage & Tobacco sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to Melstacorp and Browns Investments) whilst the sector index increased by 1.53%. The share price of Melstacorp moved down by 40 cents to Rs 53.50. The share price of Browns Investments declined by 10 cents to Rs 5.10.

Chevron Lubricants and Lanka IOC were also included amongst the top turnover contributors. The share price of Chevron Lubricants lost Rs 5.10 to Rs 80.90. The share price of Lanka IOC recorded a loss of 50 cents to Rs 139.75.