Colombo stock market ends week with over 2% gain

Saturday, 18 January 2025 01:07 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Colombo stock market yesterday sustained its upward momentum closing the week positively.

The benchmark ASPI gained by 0.26% and the S&P SL20 by 0.28% boosting the improvement for the week by 2.1% and 2.6% respectively. Turnover yesterday was Rs. 5.4 billion higher than the week’s average of Rs. 4.96 billion and involved 199 million shares.

First Capital said the bourse experienced a day of positive sentiment and increased momentum, contrasting with the volatile sentiment experienced during the day.

During the trading session, most of the investor attention was focused on the Banking sector and Blue-chip stocks. Additionally, some selected Construction sector stocks attracted buying interest, specifically, ACL, JAT, LALU, AEL and ALUM. There was increased participation from retail and HNW investors. The most significant contributors to the positive index were DIAL, DFCC, DIPD, HHL, and COMB. The Banking sector led turnover at 30%, followed by Capital Goods and Materials jointly contributing 33% of overall turnover. There was a net foreign outflow of Rs. 221.5 million.

NDB Securities said indices closed in green as a result of price gains in counters such as Dialog Axiata, DFCC Bank and Dipped Products.

High net worth and institutional investor participation was noted in John Keells Holdings, Dialog Axiata and Commercial Bank. Mixed interest was observed in DFCC Bank, Dipped Products and Melstacorp whilst retail interest was noted in Waskaduwa Beach Resort, LVL Energy Fund and Co-Operative Insurance Company.

The Banking sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to John Keells Holdings) whilst the sector index gained 0.28%. The share price of John Keells Holdings increased by 10 cents to Rs. 24.

The Capital Goods sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to Commercial Bank and Access Engineering) whilst the sector index increased by 0.47%. The share price of Commercial Bank moved up by one Rupee to Rs. 145.25. The share price of Access Engineering recorded a gain of 60 cents to Rs. 35.30.

DFCC Bank and Hatton National Bank were also included amongst the top turnover contributors. The share price of DFCC Bank gained Rs. 2.50 to Rs. 119.25. The share price of Hatton National Bank edged down by 25 cents to Rs. 327.75.