Bearish mood bites Rs. 142 b in value at CSE; ASPI dips below 7,000 points

The sustained bearish sentiment has wiped off Rs. 142 billion in value so far this week as the Colombo stock market struggles to remain resilient.

The continuous decline saw the benchmark All Share Price Index (ASPI) dip below the 7,000-point level to close at 6,930 after suffering a 1.6% or 114 points decline. The S&P SL20 dipped by 1.5% or 42 points. Turnover was below par at Rs. 1.3 billion.

The market capitalisation last week was Rs. 3.169 trillion, whilst as of yesterday it had dipped to Rs. 3.027 trillion. The ASPI, which was up 7% year-to-date (YTD) as of last week, lost further ground to be at 2.3% and the S&P SL20 YTD growth was down to 5% from 9.7% at end of last week. 

First Capital said the Bourse continued its fall in the red territory for the fourth consecutive session, recording the highest intraday loss after two weeks. 

“Index experienced a strong downtrend during the early hour of trading, thereafter, recorded a short-lived uptrend during mid-day. Later, market reverted back to the downward movement and closed at 6,931, losing 114 points,” First Capital said. 

It said the Capital Goods sector dominated the turnover for the session with a contribution of 31%. Parcel trade in CCS amounted to 5% of turnover. 

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

It said high net worth and institutional investor participation was noted in John Keells Holdings (JKH) and Ceylon Cold Stores. Mixed interest was observed in Hayleys and Expolanka Holdings, whilst retail interest was noted in Dipped Products, LOLC Holdings and Browns Investments. 

The Capital Goods sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to JKH and Hayleys), whilst the sector index lost 2.03%. The share price of JKH decreased by Rs. 1 (0.67%), closing at Rs. 148.00, whilst foreign holdings decreased by 444,529 shares. The share price of Hayleys recorded a loss of Rs. 1.40 (2.55%) to close at Rs. 53.60.

The Materials sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover, whilst the sector index decreased by 3.88%.

Expolanka Holdings, Browns Investments and LOLC Holdings were also included amongst the top turnover contributors. The share price of Expolanka Holdings lost Rs. 2.00 (4.47%) to close at Rs. 42.70. The share price of Browns Investments moved down by Rs. 0.20 (3.92%) to close at Rs. 4.90. The share price of LOLC Holdings declined by Rs. 9.25 (3.13%) to close at Rs. 286.75.

Net foreign selling was Rs. 36.6 million down from Rs. 149 million on Wednesday, whilst the YTD net outflow was Rs. 15.36 billion. Estimated net foreign buying topped in Dialog at Rs. 23.2 million and net foreign selling topped in JKH at Rs. 65.8 million. 

Asia Securities said: “We maintain that current valuations provide an attractive entry point based on our earnings expectations for FY22E/CY21E.”

Equity Two announced an interim dividend of Rs. 0.65 per share.