CSE posts marginal rebound; suffers Rs. 871 m net foreign outflow

The Colombo stock market staged a rebound yesterday though modest whilst suffering a net foreign outflow of Rs. 871 million.

The ASPI gained by 18 points or 0.1% and the S&P SL20 by 0.6 points. The gain was after the market on Wednesday declined ending an eight-day winning streak.

Turnover was Rs. 3.5 billion involving 130 million shares.

Asia Securities said the indices commenced on a positive note mainly due to price gains in CTHR (11.95%), COMB (0.96%), SAMP (1.03%) and PLC (+10.0%). On the other hand, SPEN (-4.30%), BREW (-12.5%), JKH (-1.02%) and AHUN (-2.6%) suffered some price losses. Overall, 89 stocks closed in the green, while 96 settled with losses.

Turnover was led by COCR (Rs. 1.0 billion), PLC (Rs. 370 million), and ND BILLION (Rs. 172 million).

Notably, off-board transactions contributed 33% to turnover driven by crossings in COCR (Rs. 854 million) and PLC (Rs. 280 million).

Foreigners recorded a net outflow of Rs. 871.4 million. Net foreign buying topped in SAMP.N at Rs. 44.4 million and selling topped in COCR at Rs. 1.0 billion.

First Capital said the bourse displayed a volatile day of trading as the index gained by nearly 90 points during the morning session but stumbled towards the latter part of the day amidst selling pressure, yet managed to close the day on a positive note at 11,650 gaining 18 points.

Banking sector shares, treasury counters alongside finance companies witnessed improved interest backing the index positively, as they expected the interest rates to decline in the future supported by the downward revision of the Statutory Reserve Ratio (SRR).

Among the negative contributors SPEN topped the list as it dragged the index, resulting from the poor performance recorded during the 1QFY24. Among notable transactions Commercial Credit and Finance PLC (COCR) recorded an offboard transaction of Rs. 854.8 million which amounted to a total of 23.7 million shares at Rs. 36 each, which resulted in a stake change of 7.5% boosting the turnover.

NDB Securities said high net worth and institutional investor participation was noted in Commercial Credit & Finance, People’s Leasing & Finance, and Ceylon Tobacco Company. Mixed interest was observed in National Development Bank, DFCC Bank and Sampath Bank whilst retail interest was noted in Pan Asia Banking Corporation, Softlogic Capital and Browns Investments.

The Diversified Financials sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to Commercial Credit & Finance and People’s Leasing & Finance) whilst the sector index gained 0.80%. The share price of Commercial Credit & Finance closed flat at Rs. 37.30. The share price of People’s Leasing

& Finance gained Rs. 1.10 to Rs. 12.10.

The Banking sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to National Development Bank, DFCC Bank and Pan Asia Banking Corporation) whilst the sector index increased by 0.99%. The share price of National Development Bank moved up by 40 cents to Rs. 83.90. The share price of DFCC Bank edged up by 10 cents to Rs. 85.10. The share price of Pan Asia Banking Corporation appreciated by Rs. 1.10 to Rs. 20.70.

Separately Ceylon Tobacco Company, Ceylon Grain Elevators and Three Acre Farms announced their dividends of Rs. 33, Rs. 6 and Rs. 12 per share respectively.