Colombo stock market reverts to bearish mood

The Colombo stock market reverted to bearish mood yesterday amidst low turnover as local investor interest remained lacklustre.

The active S&P SL20 dipped by 0.9% and the benchmark ASPI dropped by 0.5%. Turnover was Rs. 856 million involving 48 million shares.

Asia Securities said front-line stocks LIOC (-0.4%), EXPO (-0.4%), BIL (-2.8%), and ACL (-1.6%) ended in the red while AAIC (+7.1%), SCAP (+3.0%), and SLTL (+1.8%) scaled higher during the session. Turnover was supported by LIOC (Rs. 254 million), AAIC (Rs. 101 million), and EXPO (Rs. 94 million).



HAYL (-7 points), SAMP (-7 points), and RICH (-6 points) ended as the biggest laggards on the ASPI. Overall, 76 stocks ended in green while 84 settled with losses.

Foreigners recorded a net inflow of Rs. 13.5 million. Net foreign buying topped in MGT at Rs. 3.7 million and selling topped in TESS at Rs. 0.9 million.

First Capital said the bourse regressed to the red zone as both indices took a dip with investor sentiment hampered over the proposed electricity tariff hike by 65% and its negative impact on the corporates with effect from January 2023.

It said although ASPI scaled high during the initial hours of trading, subsequently the index continued to plummet as investors booked profits in Capital Goods sector counters such as JKH and RICH. Accordingly, the index closed in red at 8,411 losing 41 points with SAMP dragging down the index largely. Turnover hit a one-and-a-half month low, recording 67% below the monthly average turnover of Rs. 2.6 billion.

NDB Securities said the ASPI closed in red as a result of price losses in counters such as Hayleys, Sampath Bank and Richard Pieris & Company.

It said high net worth and institutional investor participation remained subdued for the day. Mixed interest was observed in Lanka IOC, Expolanka Holdings and Softlogic Life Insurance whilst retail interest was noted in Browns Investments, SMB Leasing nonvoting and Softlogic Capital.

The Energy sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to Lanka IOC) whilst the sector index lost 0.33%. The share price of Lanka IOC decreased by 75 cents to close at Rs. 210.

The Insurance sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to Softlogic Life Insurance) whilst the sector index increased by 1%. The share price of Softlogic Life Insurance gained Rs. 5 (7.05%) to close at Rs. 75.90.

Expolanka Holdings, Sanasa Development Bank and Browns Investments were also included amongst the top turnover contributors. The share price of Expolanka Holdings moved down by 75 cents to close at Rs. 180.25. The share price of Sanasa Development Bank recorded a gain of 60 cents (2.79%) to close at Rs. 22.10. The share price of Browns Investments declined by 20 cents (2.82%) to close at Rs. 6.90.