Colombo stock market closes on the up

The Colombo stock market closed on a positive note yesterday, enabling it to end the week on a similar note with a late rally in investor sentiments.

The All Share Price Index gained by 24 points, or 0.48% yesterday, and the S&P SL20 Index inched up by 2 points. Turnover was Rs. 872 million.

First Capital said election optimism triggered the retail investors, aiding to retain the positive sentiment for the second consecutive session. 

“ASPI was uplifted predominantly due to the price advances in Browns Investments and Dialog. 

Market was driven on an uptrend since the beginning of the session due to the heavy retail buying interest in selective mid cap counters and closed at 5,065 gaining 24 points,” First Capital said.

It said Capital Goods sector took over of the dominance in the turnover while parcel trades contributed 15% of the total. 

While witnessing a net foreign outflow, the week ended with the market recording the lowest foreign participation after a month.

NDB Securities said the ASPI closed in green as a result of price gains in counters such as Browns Investments, Dialog Axiata, and Carson Cumberbatch.

High net worth and institutional investor participation was noted in Sigiriya Village Hotel. Mixed interest was observed in John Keells Holdings, Hatton National Bank and Royal Ceramics, whilst retail interest was noted in The Colombo Fort Land and Building, Browns Investments, and Tokyo Cement Company nonvoting.

The Capital Goods sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to The Colombo Fort Land and Building, and John Keells Holdings) whilst the sector index gained 1.01%. The share price of The Colombo Fort Land and Building gained Rs. 1.90 (22.62%) to close at Rs. 10.30 while the share price of John Keells Holdings appreciated by Rs. 0.50 (0.45%) to close at Rs. 112.

The Banking sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover whilst the sector index increased by 0.17%. Sigiriya Village Hotels, LOLC Holdings and Tokyo Cement Company nonvoting were also included amongst the top turnover contributors. The share price of Sigiriya Village Hotels decreased by Rs. 0.10 (0.35%) to close at Rs. 28.80 while the share price of LOLC Holdings edged down by Rs. 0.10 (0.08%) to close at Rs. 124.40. Furthermore, the share price of Tokyo Cement Company nonvoting recorded a gain of Rs. 0.90 (3.02%), closing at Rs. 30.70 whilst foreign holdings decreased by 802,000 shares.

Furthermore, Swadeshi Industrial Works and Bansei Royal Resorts Hikkaduwa announced their first and final dividends of Rs. 1 and Rs. 0.05 per share, respectively.

Acuity Stockbrokers said the Bourse ended the week on a positive note as the ASPI increased by 76.80 points (or +1.54%) to close at 5,065.30 points, while the S&P SL20 Index also increased by 8.39 points (or +0.39%) to close at 2,161.89 points.

The total turnover value amounted to Rs. 4.47 billion (as against last week’s value of Rs. 5.17 billion).

Foreign investors closed the week in a net selling position, with the total net outflow amounting to Rs. 0.79 billion as against the Rs. 0.42 billion outflow last week, according to Acuity.