Stock market struggles; YTD foreign outflow tops Rs. 21 b

The Colombo stock market’s sharp rebound on Wednesday was short-lived as it struggled yesterday, closing on a negative note.

On a day of erratic behaviour, the All Share Price Index (ASPI) closed down 23 points or 0.3%, whilst the S&P SL20 ended down 16 points or 0.57%. Turnover was Rs. 2.5 billion with 100 million shares traded. Net foreign selling yesterday rose to Rs. 776 million, pushing the year-to-date (YTD) figure to Rs. 21.3 billion. Estimated net foreign buying topped in WindForce at Rs. 31.5 million for the second consecutive day and net foreign selling topped in HNB.N at Rs. 764.3 million.

First Capital said the bourse continued to play on a rollercoaster movement throughout the session, reverting ASPI back to negative posture. 

“The index spiked in the first few minutes and then exhibited a stepped upward movement during mid-day and gradually declined towards the latter part of the session,” First Capital added.

It said the Banking sector led the turnover for the day with an exclusive contribution of 41%. 

Asia Securities said following an initial pickup, the indices trended downwards to close the session with marginal losses. 

“Profit taking was witnessed following yesterday’s gains, while market activity remained resilient,” Asia added.

It said Banks, Capital Goods, Food, Beverage and Tobacco and Transportation sectors led activity, collectively accounting for 80.1% of turnover. 

NDB Equities said the ASPI closed in red as a result of price losses in counters such as LOLC Holdings, John Keells Holdings and Browns Investments.

It said high net worth and institutional investor participation was noted in Hatton National Bank. Mixed interest was observed in Sampath Bank, Dipped Products and Royal Ceramics, whilst retail interest was noted in Industrial Asphalts, NDB Rights and Browns Investments. Furthermore, foreigners remained active closing as net sellers mainly due to foreign selling in HNB.

The Banking sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to HNB), whilst the sector index lost 0.41%. The share price of HNB increased by Rs. 3 (2.36%), closing at Rs. 130, whilst foreign holdings decreased by 5,879,118 shares.

The Capital Goods sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to Royal Ceramics), whilst the sector index decreased by 1.09%. The share price of Royal Ceramics closed flat at Rs. 34.90.

Browns Investments, Expolanka Holdings and Dipped Products were also included amongst the top turnover contributors. The share price of Browns Investments moved down by Rs. 0.10 (1.56%) to close at Rs. 6.30. The share price of Expolanka Holdings recorded a gain of Rs. 0.20 (0.42%) to close at Rs. 47.80. The share price of Dipped Products declined by Rs. 0.80 (1.43%) to close at Rs. 55.30.