Colombo stock market ends first week of 2024 on the up; foreigners net sellers

The Colombo stock market ended its first week of the New Year on a positive note 

The Colombo stock market ended its first week of the New Year on a positive note though suffering net foreign inflow.

 The benchmark ASPI saw a 15% gain and the active S&P SL20 by 0.9%. Average turnover for the week was Rs. 609 million down from Rs. 725 million in the previous week. On Friday, the ASPI gained 22 points (+0.2%) while the S&P SL20 index edged 8 points higher.

The Colombo Stock Exchange in 2023 ended with the ASPI up 25.5% and S&P SL20 by 16.4%. The average daily turnover amounted to Rs. 1.7 billion.

Asia Securities said on Friday, notable buying interest was observed in LIOC (+3.9%), LLUB (+1.2%), ALUM (+2.4%), AEL (+2.0%), and HAYL (+3.0%). Meanwhile, AMF saw a significant price gain of 19.9% during the session. The breadth of the market was positive with 87 price gainers and 68 decliners.

Turnover improved marginally to Rs. 704 million led by MELS (Rs. 78 million), AMF (Rs. 68 million), JKH (Rs. 56 million), and LLUB (Rs. 36 million). 

Foreigners recorded a net outflow of Rs. 79.6 million. Net foreign buying topped in DIST at Rs. 5.3 million and selling topped in JKH at Rs. 43.3 million. For the week the net foreign outflow was Rs. 204 million.

Last year the CSE saw net foreign inflow of Rs. 4.3 billion.

First Capital said the Bourse ended in the green today for the 6th consecutive session, on the back of price appreciation in blue chip counters whilst slight selling pressure emerged on the banking sector counters. ASPI started off strong, slowed down mid-session and picked up once again towards the latter, with blue chip counters such as HAYL, LIOC and MELS contributing towards the gain. The index ended the day on a 22 point gain to 10,762. Hotel counters saw an increased interest as well. 

The majority of the turnover was contributed by the retail sector, showing an increase in investor participation relative to the past few weeks. 

NDB Securities said high net worth and institutional investor participation remained subdued for the day. Mixed interest was observed in Melstacorp, John Keells Holdings and Chevron Lubricants whilst retail interest was noted in Associated Motor Finance Company, Alumex and Co-Operative Insurance Company.

The Food, Beverage & Tobacco sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to Melstacorp) whilst the sector index gained 0.40%. The share price of Melstacorp increased by 70 cents to Rs. 92.90.

The Diversified Financials sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to Associated Motor Finance Company) whilst the sector index decreased by 0.40%. The share price of Associated Motor Finance Company gained Rs. 3.60 to Rs. 21.70.

John Keells Holdings, Chevron Lubricants and Expolanka Holdings were also included amongst the top turnover contributors. The share price of John Keells Holdings moved down by 50 cents to Rs. 189.50. The share price of Chevron Lubricants recorded a gain of Rs. 1.10 to Rs. 95. The share price of Expolanka Holdings appreciated by one Rupee to Rs. 141.