Friday Nov 08, 2024
FT
Friday Nov 08, 2024
Wednesday, 25 August 2021 02:53 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Financial services-heavy conglomerate LOLC yesterday regained the status as the most valuable stock in the Colombo bourse whilst achieving a price milestone after Expolanka closed lower after meteoric rise.
Investor fans of LOLC ensured lost glory as most valuable was short-lived as the share price gained by Rs. 16 or 3% to cross the Rs. 500 mark to close at Rs. 507.50. This saw LOLC market capitalisation move to Rs. 241.1 billion. Around 1.87 million of LOLC shares changed hands via 2,149 trades for Rs. 965 million.
Daily FT yesterday did say that investors and analysts were betting whether come Tuesday diehards of LOLC would propel it to number one. This did happen eventually.
Monday’s most valued, Expolanka did not survive the frenzied trading for the second day with a price gain due to profit taking. Expo saw 13 million of its shares change hands via 5,671 trades with a Rs. 1.6 billion turnover. The stock closed Rs. 2.75 or 2% lower to Rs. 120 with a market capitalisation of Rs. 234.58 billion.
Analysts with knowledge said yesterday that what drove Expo to be the most valued on Monday was largely what they described as “synchronised buying”. Other analysts did not rule out synchronised buying yesterday too but opined Expo rose too high too fast whilst some retailers failed to be convinced there is further upside on fundamentals. Some brokers remain bullish on Expo and continue to maintain it as “Buy” given the medium to long term earnings potential.
Play on the top two stocks and a few other “targeted” counters saw turnover at the Colombo Stock Exchange soar to Rs. 10 billion involving 421.4 million shares traded.
The All Share Price Index continued its north-bound journey up 188 points or 2.2% whilst the S&P SL20 gained by 0.9% or 28 points. With recent spikes, the ASPI’s year to date gain was 28% and S&P SL20 was 20%.
LOLC Finance saw shares worth Rs. 1.06 billion traded followed by Browns Investments (Rs. 1.03 billion). Dipped Products too was among the largest turnover generators with Rs. 603 million.
First Capital said the bourse continued to see strength for the second consecutive day with ASPI crossing the 8,500 psychological level. It said turnover hovered around Rs. 10 billion sustaining the buying interest supported by heavy retail participation. Turnover was recorded at a strong level, led by the Capital Goods sector, closely followed by the Diversified Financials sector, collectively accounting for a total contribution of 47%.
“Index started trading on an upbeat note, gaining 164 points within the first few minutes but subsequently skewed to a downtrend, followed by a gradual recovery till the latter part of the session. Later, the index hit its intraday high at 8,719 and displayed a gradual downtrend, before closing at 8,668,” First Capital said.
Acuity Stockbrokers said foreign investors recorded a net outflow of Rs. 243.5 million as against a net outflow of Rs. 14.65 million on Monday.
Asia Securities said rallying for the second consecutive session, the ASPI crossed the 8,700 level during trading hours for the first time since January, boosted by buying interest shown by retail investors in CLC and closed at a new six-month high.
The index once again opened strongly, breaching the 8,600 mark with a gap up of 163 points and moved within a range of 8,600-8,650 till the mid-afternoon session amid mild profit-booking by investors. However, the index recorded a sharp late-hour pickup due to price gains in CLC and went above 8,700 before witnessing stabilisation towards the end.
“EXPO, which was up 22% yesterday closed slightly lower as retail investors booked profits in the stock, however, saw strong consolidation in the Rs. 120 range,” Asia said.
It also said CLC was under the spotlight during the session gaining 50% and made a sharp contribution of 125 points to the index’s movement, mainly on the back of buying interest shown by retail investors. In line with the ongoing surging momentum, other active counters such as HAYL, DIPD, and RCL saw some renewed buying interest during the session. Turnover remained at stronger levels, led by EXPO, LOFC, and BIL which collectively generated 37% of total turnover.
NDB Securities said the ASPI closed in green as a result of price gains in counters such as Commercial Leasing & Finance, Lanka Orix Finance and LOLC Holdings.
It said high net worth and institutional investor participation was noted in Cargills, Hatton National Bank non-voting and John Keells Holdings. Mixed interest was observed in Expolanka Holdings, LOLC Holdings and Hayleys whilst retail interest was noted in Browns Investments, Lanka Orix Finance and SMB Leasing non-voting.
Capital Goods sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to Hayleys) whilst the sector index gained 1.25%. The share price of Hayleys appreciated by Rs. 7.00 (8.57%) to close at Rs. 88.70.
Diversified Financials sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to Lanka Orix Finance and LOLC Holdings) whilst the sector index increased by 9.63%. The share price of Lanka Orix Finance gained Rs. 1.8 (16.67%) closing at Rs. 12.60 whilst foreign holdings decreased by 1,650,099 shares. The share price of LOLC Holdings recorded a gain of Rs. 16.00 (3.26%) to close at Rs. 507.50.
Expolanka Holdings and Browns Investments were also included amongst the top turnover contributors. The share price of Browns Investments moved up by Rs. 0.10 (1.33%) to close at Rs. 7.60.
Four OF the seven top most valued companies are now linked to LOLC including Commercial Leasing, Browns Investments and LOLC Development Finance.
