Stock market’s struggle persist

The Colombo stock market’s struggle continued yesterday with indices down amidst relatively low volume of trading.

The indices declined by 0.4%, lower than on Tuesday’s over 1% dip. Turnover was Rs. 787 million involving 19.6 million shares as against Rs. 891 million and 37 million shares on Tuesday. Asia Securities said the market continued its subdued momentum with the ASPI reaching a three-week low at 10,724 (-52 points). 

HAYL (-2.4%), DIST (-1.9%), LIOC (-1.4%), LOLC (-2.9%), and PABC (-2.7%) recorded price losses, however TJL (+1.2%), DIAL (+1.1%), and VONE (+1.3%) saw some buying interest during the session. DFCC (-10 points), LOLC (-8 points), and HAYL (-5 points) came in as the biggest laggards on the ASPI. Overall, 51 stocks closed in green while 114 settled with losses.

Turnover was led by EXPO (Rs. 240 million). 

Net foreign buying topped in SAMP.N at Rs. 15.6 million and selling topped in EXPO at Rs. 26.3 million.

First Capital said the market commenced with a bullish momentum, but as the day progressed, profit booking gradually emerged, leading the index to close in the red at over a 2-week low of 10,724, marking a 52-point decline. 

The Banking sector counters, including DFCC and SAMP, exerted downward pressure on the index. On the contrary, NDB captured significant investor attention during the day, driven by positive results that highlighted an impressive 379.7%YoY and 97.1%QoQ surge in earnings during 3Q2023. Tourism counters also garnered interest, buoyed by a surge in tourist arrivals exceeding 55,000 in the initial 12 days of this month, indicating a notable improvement during the peak season.