CSE sees first net foreign inflow for 2024

• Stock market records net foreign buying of Rs. 211.6 m mainly on net inflow of Rs. 365.7 m in JKH
• Last year CSE saw net foreign inflow of Rs. 4.3 b though ended December with a net outflow of Rs. 653.4 m

The Colombo stock market yesterday saw its first ever net foreign inflow for 2024 as it ended a shortened week marginally higher.

Upto Wednesday, CSE had seen net foreign outflow of Rs. 3.3 billion and yesterday net inflow amounted to Rs. 211.6 million with net foreign buying most in JKH at Rs. 365.7 million.

First Capital said foreign investors turning net buyers yesterday was after nearly 2 months.

The lack of net foreign inflow year to date until Wednesday was of concern to stock broking firms and capital market promoters. Last year the Colombo Stock Exchange saw net foreign inflow Rs. 4.3 billion though it ended December with a net outflow of Rs. 653.4 million.

At present the Market P/E is 10.64 times which is considered attractive whilst several counters in CSE such as from the banking sector are trading below book value.

For the week the benchmark ASPI gained by 0.7% and the active S&P SL20 by 0.5%. Average daily turnover was Rs. 971 million. Last week ASPI and the S&P SL20 gained 0.2% and 0.7% respectively recording an average daily turnover of Rs. 862 million.

Asia Securities said the ASPI bounced back from its intra-day losses to end slightly up on Thursday, driven by increased market participation and a subsequent surge in turnover. JKH dominated turnover during the session (Rs. 572 million) amidst a notable pick-up in buying interest. EXPO also saw a significant increase in buying due to renewed share buyback speculation.  Crossings accounted for 38.4% of turnover with 11 crossings recorded in JKH (Rs. 440.2 million), 2 crossings in EXPO (Rs. 67.3 million) and 1 crossing in LFIN (Rs. 56.7 million).

EXPO (+6.1%), HAYC (+3.2%), SLTL (+2.1%), LOFC (+2.5%), VFIN (+2.9%), and HHL (+2.1%) closed higher for the day. EXPO (+16 points), JKH (+4 points), and HHL (+3 points) came in as the major index drivers for the day.

First Capital said the bourse experienced a volatile session of trading during the day but managed to halt on the green zone at 10,655 gaining 6 points, continuing the positive momentum from the previous day.

Blue-chip companies namely EXPO and JKH mainly aided the ASPI to land on the positive territory backed by high-net-worth investor participation, however the retail participation continued to remain relatively low. The Banking sector shares namely SAMP, HNB and NDB displayed a negative sentiment mainly because of the flat results reported for the 4Q2023 period, which dragged the index down.

Turnover was 4% higher than the month’s average backed by the Capital Goods sector and Transportation sector for a joint contribution of 55%.

NDB Securities said high net worth and institutional investor participation was noted in John Keells Holdings, Expolanka Holdings and LB Finance. Mixed interest was observed in Lanka IOC, Nations Trust Bank and Haycarb whilst retail interest was noted in Dialog Axiata, Lanka Milk Foods and Distilleries.

The Capital Goods sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to John Keells Holdings) whilst the sector index gained 0.45%. The share price of John Keells Holdings increased by Rs. 1.50 to Rs. 194.00.

The Transportation sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to Expolanka Holdings) whilst the sector index increased by 6.08%. The share price of Expolanka Holdings gained Rs. 8.25 to Rs. 143.75.

Lanka IOC, Nations Trust Bank and Lanka Milk Foods were also included amongst the top turnover contributors. The share price of Lanka IOC moved up by 25 cents to Rs. 106. The share price of Nations Trust Bank closed flat at Rs. 105. The share price of Lanka Milk Foods appreciated by 20 cents to Rs. 24.30.