Activity at CSE dips to new low as investors stay away

Tuesday, 19 September 2023 01:09 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Colombo stock market turnover yesterday slipped to a new low as investors stayed away amidst negative sentiment.

Both indices declined by over 0.8%. Turnover was Rs. 660 million involving a mere 26 million shares.

Asia Securities said the market continued its subdued momentum session on Monday (18), with profit booking observed in TKYON (-2.6%), TKYOX (-2.0%), HAYL (-2.4%), and COMBN (-1.3%). Turnover remained moderate coming in at Rs. 660 million (previous session – Rs. 784 m) led by SAMP (Rs. 66 m), TKYON (Rs. 64 m), EXPO (Rs. 41 m) and CALT (Rs. 35 m). COMBN (-8 points), SAMP (-6 points), and HAYL (-6 points) came in as the biggest laggards on the ASPI. The breadth of the market remained negative with 31 price gainers and 148 decliners.

Foreigners recorded a net inflow of Rs. 35.5 million. Net foreign buying topped in TKYO.N at Rs. 19.9 million and selling topped in SEYB.N at Rs. 2.6 million.

First Capital said the market continued to witness the second streak of losses during the day as investor participation sharply weakened with speculations on IMF staff level agreement which urged investors to hold the sidelines.

Consequently, the index moved on a steep downtrend as selling sentiment dominated broadly across all segments while the ASPI closed in the red at 11,364 losing 102 points with heavy weights such as COMB, SAMP and HAYL contributing negatively.

NDB Securities said high net worth and institutional investor participation was noted in Sampath Bank. Mixed interest was observed in Tokyo Cement Company, Expolanka Holdings and Capital Alliance whilst retail interest was noted in Browns Investments, The Kingsbury and Agstar.

The Materials sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to Tokyo Cement Company) whilst the sector index lost 1.74%. The share price of Tokyo Cement Company lost Rs. 1.50 to Rs. 55.70.

The Banking sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to Sampath Bank) whilst the sector index decreased by 1.09%. The share price of Sampath Bank decreased by 80 cents to Rs. 69.80.

Expolanka Holdings, Capital Alliance and The Kingsbury were also included amongst the top turnover contributors. The share price of Expolanka Holdings moved down by Rs. 1.50 to Rs. 140.25. The share price of Capital Alliance recorded a loss of Rs. 1.40 to Rs. 79.30. The share price of The Kingsbury appreciated by 10 cents to close at Rs. 12.10.