The agonising run at the Colombo stock market persisted yesterday with turnover slumping to Rs. 320 million, lowest since COVID-hit May 2020.

Just 13.4 million shares traded whilst indices closed flat.

The setback was amidst President Ranil Wickremesinghe expressing confidence of his victory at next month’s election and former President’s son and SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa joining the race yesterday.

Asia Securities said the indices turned rangebound in a subdued session on Wednesday.

Investors maintained a cautious approach during the session awaiting for clarity on the political front. CINSN ended as the major driver on the ASPI, contributing 16 points to the index. Overall, 56 stocks ended in the green while 72 settled with losses.

CINSN topped the turnover list due off-board transactions. 

First Capital said the ongoing political uncertainty, coupled with global market volatility, influenced investors in the Colombo Bourse to maintain the lacklustre sentiment seen in previous sessions and caused the ASPI to remain stagnant at closing.

The ASPI started the session on a bullish note but unexpectedly plummeted to an intraday low of 12,285 early in the trading session. However, the index recovered rapidly, and displayed a volatile movement in the later part and ultimately closed the day at 11,295, gaining only 1 point.

Most of the Diversified Financials sector counters witnessed improved buying interest throughout the day with CINS emerging as the top positive contributor to the index. 

Turnover marked a 63.5% decrease from the month’s average amidst the low participation of the retail investors and HNWIs. The Diversified Financials sector contributed 30% to the turnover, followed by the Capital Goods and Materials sectors jointly contributing 37% to the overall turnover. Foreign investors remained net sellers, with a net outflow of Rs. 23.4 million.

NDB Securities said high net worth and institutional investor participation was noted in Central Finance Company. Mixed interest was observed in John Keells Holdings, LOLC Holdings and CIC Holdings nonvoting whilst retail interest was noted in Industrial Asphalts, Browns Investments and Dialog Axiata.

The Diversified Financials sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to Central Finance Company and LOLC Holdings) whilst the sector index lost 0.31%. The share price of Central Finance Company closed flat at Rs. 105.25. The share price of LOLC Holdings moved down by 75 cents to Rs. 399.75.

The Capital Goods sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to John Keells Holdings) whilst the sector index decreased by 0.28%. The share price of John Keells Holdings lost 25 cents to Rs. 179.25.

CIC Holdings nonvoting and National Development Bank were also included amongst the top turnover contributors. The share price of CIC Holdings nonvoting recorded a loss of 20 cents to Rs. 49.60. The share price of the National Development Bank declined by 10 cents to Rs. 69.

Ranil says confident of winning Presidential poll