No Christmas cheer at CSE ends week with over 4% loss but feast net foreign inflow

The Colombo stock market lacked festive cheer this week as it closed with a loss of over 4% though feasted high net foreign inflow.

The ASPI declined 359.55 pts (-4.11%) while the S&P SL20 lost 172.01 pts (-6.15%). Turnover averaged Rs. 2.6 billion, improving slightly from Rs. 2.3 billion averaged last week. A net foreign inflow of Rs. 5.8 billion was recorded for the week (previous week Rs. 3.2 billion).

So far in December net foreign inflow was Rs. 12.8 billion whilst the year to date the figure is Rs. 30.4 billion. 

Asia Securities said the indices closed marginally lower in a range-bound session on Friday as price gains in AAIC (+12.5%), SCAP (+11.1%), BIL (+4.5%), SLTL (+6.9%), VONE (+4.1%), and LHCL (+3.5%) were offset by EXPO (-5.2%), LIOC (-1.7%), CFVF (-2.1%), ACL (-1.6%), RICH (-2.1%) and BRWN (-4.4%). 

Activity on the Exchange remained muted leading to a relatively low turnover of Rs. 1,142 million (5-day average Rs. 2,620 million). 

Earlier in the day, the ASPI declined to an intra-day low of 8,334 (-63 points) at market open before turning range-bound between 8,325 and 8,375. EXPO (-22 points) ended as the biggest laggard on the ASPI while VONE (+12 points), and BIL (+7 points) came in as the major gainers for the day. The breadth of the market was negative as 72 stocks witnessed price increases during the session while 85 closed in red.

First Capital said the bourse continued to descend and closed the week marginally down as investors continued to remain sidelined waiting for a clear direction on the macroeconomic front. Index fell deeply as soon as the market opened and continued to trade lower. 

Meanwhile, towards the end of the session, index peaked to an intraday high of 8,429 and traded positively as retailers actively collected BIL and Softlogic group counters. However, the market failed to sustain the momentum and ended the day at 8,380, losing 17 points. 

Turnover narrowed down by 43% compared to the previous session while also remaining below 55% cf. monthly average turnover of Rs. 2.5 billion as activities remained dull ahead of the Christmas holiday. Turnover was largely contributed by the Insurance sector (29%) as retail participation was mainly witnessed on AAIC and SCAP while Transportation (mainly EXPO) and Materials sectors contributed 18% and 12%, respectively.

NDB Securities said the ASPI closed in red as a result of price losses in counters such as Expolanka Holdings, Malwatte Valley Plantations and Lanka IOC.

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

The Insurance sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to Softlogic Life Insurance) whilst the sector index gained 1.17%. The share price of Softlogic Life Insurance increased by Rs. 8.20 (12.52%) to close at Rs. 73.70.

The Transportation sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to Expolanka Holdings) whilst the sector index decreased by 5.17%. The share price of Expolanka Holdings lost Rs. 10 (5.18%) to close at Rs. 183.

Softlogic Capital, Lanka IOC and Browns Investments were also included among the top turnover contributors. The share price of Softlogic Capital moved up by 70 cents (11.11%) to close at Rs. 7.

The share price of Lanka IOC recorded a loss of Rs. 3.50 (1.70%) to close at Rs. 202.50. The share price of Browns Investments appreciated by 30 cents (4.55%) to close at Rs. 6.90.