More setbacks to stock market

Amidst rising political upheaval, the Colombo stock market suffered a fresh setback yesterday with trading halted twice though there were signs of pick up prior to the close.

The All-Share Price Index declined by 2.68% or 227 points and the more active S&P SL20 plunged by over 5% or 146 points. 

Year to date, ASPI is down 32.5% and S&P SL20 by 36.5% prompting Bloomberg to label the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) yesterday as the second-worst performer after Russia.

Turnover was Rs. 1.97 billion involving 98 million shares. 

Asia Securities said the indices extended the stretch of price declines as retail and HNI investors continued to remain on the side-lines, assessing the ongoing political uncertainty in the country. Trading on the Exchange was halted twice as the more liquid S&P SL20 declined as much as 7.5% during the session mainly due to price losses in EXPO, LOLC, SAMP and JKH. 

The indices commenced the session on a downbeat note with the ASPI hitting an intra-day low of 8,002 (469 points) and the S&P SL20 index scaling down to 2,554 (277 points) in the first hour of trading. 

The market staged a subsequent rebound to positive territory as the ASPI picked up to 8,623, regaining around 621 points, while the S&P SL20 index gained 323 points to reach 2,877.

Reversing course thereupon, the indices ended sharply lower due to heavy retail and HNI selling during closing hours. 

The ASPI closed out the session at 8,245 (227 points) while the S&P SL20 index ended at 2,685 (146 points). Turnover was led by EXPO (Rs. 900 million), LOLC (Rs. 153 million) and BIL (Rs. 147 million).

Foreigners ended on the buying side generating a net inflow of Rs. 103 million with net foreign buying topping in EXPO (Rs. 70 million), and VFIN (Rs. 20.7 million) The breadth of the market remained negative with 66 gainers and 138 decliners.

First Capital said the Bourse ended in the red territory for the sixth consecutive session as investors were discouraged over rising pandemonium in the country. 

Amidst a short trading session, the index opened with a hefty fall promptly giving rise to a trading halt as the S&P SL 20 index dived below 5% over mounting selling pressure. 

Subsequently, another trading halt took over a couple of minutes after the initial trading halt was lifted as the S&P SL 20 index dropped over 7.5%. 

However, thereafter the index demonstrated a recovery indicating a subtle bargain hunt but failed to hold the positive momentum before closing for the day with retail favourite counters contributing largely to the plummet of the ASPI to 8,245 losing 227 points. Turnover was led by the Transportation sector and Capital Goods sector accounting for a joint contribution of 59%. 

NDB Securities said the indices closed in red as a result of price losses in counters such as Expolanka Holdings, LOLC Holdings and Sampath Bank.

The market was halted for 30 minutes twice as the S&P SL20 hit the 5% and 7.5% circuit breaker. 

NDB said high net worth and institutional investor participation remained subdued for the day. Mixed interest was observed in Expolanka Holdings, LOLC Holdings and Hayleys, whilst retail interest was noted in SMB Leasing nonvoting, Browns Investments, and Industrial Asphalts. 

The transportation sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to Expolanka Holdings), whilst the sector index lost 12.76%.

The share price of Expolanka Holdings decreased by Rs. 23.25 (12.81%) to close at Rs. 158.25. 

The Capital Goods sector was the second-highest contributor to the market turnover (due to Hayleys and Royal Ceramics), whilst the sector index decreased by 3.35%. The share price of Hayleys recorded a loss of Rs. 2.60 (3.57%) to close at Rs. 70.30.

The share price of Royal Ceramics declined by Rs. 2 (5.62%) to close at Rs. 33.60. LOLC Holdings and Browns Investments were also included among the top turnover contributors. The share price of LOLC Holdings lost Rs. 75.00 (15.32%) to close at Rs. 414.50.

The share price of Browns Investments moved down by 10 cents (1.52%) to close at Rs. 6.50.

Separately Ceylinco Insurance announced a final dividend of Rs. 42 per share.