Bourse suffers 2% drop; ASI dips below 6,000-points level

Thursday, 9 January 2020 01:58 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Colombo stock market yesterday suffered its sharpest loss in recent weeks to close at an over two month low as investors heightened bearish sentiments.

The ASPI dipped from 6,026 points to 5,898 points. S&P SL 20 Index too saw a 2.6% dip. Turnover was Rs. 624 million. First Capital said the Bourse ended the day in red, persisting the negative sentiment for the third consecutive trading session.

The ASPI witnessed a continuous downtrend to reach an intra-day low of 5,896 in the last hour of trading and ultimately rebounding to close at 5,899 losing 127 points - the lowest since 23 October 2019.

NDB Equities said the ASPI closed in red as a result of price losses in counters such as LOLC Holdings, Hatton National Bank and Distilleries.

High net worth and institutional investor participation was noted in Diesel & Motor Engineering and Ceylon Cold Stores. Mixed interest was observed in Browns Investments and Access Engineering whilst retail interest was noted in LOLC Holdings and Tokyo Cement Company nonvoting.

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

Banks, Finance and Insurance sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to Sampath Bank) whilst the sector index lost 2.74%. The share price of Sampath Bank declined by Rs 1.70 (1.10%) to close at Rs 153.50.

Diversified sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to Browns Investments) whilst the sector index decreased by 1.89%. The share price of Browns Investments decreased by Rs 0.30 (5.56%) to close at Rs 5.10.

Access Engineering, Ceylon Cold Stores and Teejay Lanka were also included amongst the top turnover contributors.

The share price of Access Engineering lost Rs 1.30 (6.50%) to close at Rs 18.70. The share price of Ceylon Cold Stores moved up by Rs 12.10 (1.56%) closing at Rs 789.90 whilst foreign holdings decreased by 36,304 shares. The share price of Teejay Lanka recorded a loss of Rs 0.30 (0.77%) to close at Rs 38.50.