Tumultuous start for Colombo bourse after two-week recess

The Colombo stock market saw a tumultuous start yesterday after its two-week recess reinforcing panic on the part of investors to growing negatives in the country.

In less than 30 minutes of opening the market closed after the dip of the indices triggered a back-to-back market halt.

Resultantly, the S&P SL20 closed down by 10% and ASPI by 7.6%. Turnover was Rs. 265.4 million involving 30.2 million shares.

Unlike locals, foreigners remained bullish becoming net buyers.

Asia Securities said following a two-week trade halt, the market reopened yesterday, however, the indices commenced the session on a weak note plunging more than 5% in early hours due to heavy retail and HNI selling pressure. 

Following a 30-minute trade halt, the indices resumed trading at 11:01 a.m.

However, trading for the day was halted immediately as the more liquid S&P SL20 index plunged as much as 12.6% during the session, triggering the lowest circuit breaker threshold of 10% for the day. 

The ASPI ended below the 8,000 levels at 7,514 (-621 points) while the S&P SL20 index lost 268 points to close at 2,356. 

Turnover came in at Rs. 265 million led by EXPO (Rs. 74 million), BIL (Rs. 26 million), and HAYL (Rs. 19 million). EXPO topped the negative contributors, contributing 54 negative points to the ASPI, followed by COMB (-46 points), LOLC (-41 points), JKH (-38 points), and BIL (-24 points). Overall, 174 stocks recorded price losses during the session while five ended higher.

Foreigners recorded a net inflow of Rs. 15.2 million while their participation was recorded at 3.5% of turnover. Net foreign buying topped EXPO.N at Rs. 13.2 million ($ 40,000) while net foreign selling topped LLUB.N at Rs. 0.5 million ($ 2,000).

First Capital said following the closure of the market for seven consecutive trading days, the market extended price declines as economic and political conditions are still under pressure. 

The market was only active for three minutes of trading with the first halt occurring within the first minute of the session, afterwards, market trading lasted for a few minutes as the S&P SL20 index fell over 10%. 

With the continuous selling pressure, S&P SL20 plunged down to a one-and-a-half-year low whereas ASPI dropped to a near 11-month low while closing the day at 7,514, losing 621 points. 

Since it was a short trading session, turnover was recorded at a lower level of Rs. 265.4 million which was largely led by the Transportation and Capital Goods sectors with a joint contribution of 52%. 

Foreign investors remained net buyers while recording low participation.

NDB Securities said indices closed in red as a result of price losses in counters such as Expolanka Holdings, Commercial Bank, and LOLC Holdings.

It said high net worth and institutional investor participation remained subdued for the day. Mixed interest was observed in Expolanka Holdings, Hayleys, and Royal Ceramics, whilst retail interest was noted in SMB Leasing voting and nonvoting, Browns Investments, and Industrial Asphalts.

The transportation sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to Expolanka Holdings), whilst the sector index lost 18.49%. The share price of Expolanka Holdings decreased by Rs. 27.75 (18.50%) to close at Rs. 122.25.

The Capital Goods sector was the second-highest contributor to the market turnover (due to Hayleys, Royal Ceramics, and John Keells Holdings), whilst the sector index decreased by 9.05%. The share price of Hayleys moved down by Rs. 8.70 (12.32%) to close at Rs. 61.90. The share price of Royal Ceramics recorded a loss of Rs. 5.20 (15.07%) to close at Rs. 29.30. The share price of John Keells Holdings declined by Rs. 10.00 (7.13%) to close at Rs. 130.25.

Browns Investments was also included amongst the top turnover contributors. The share price of Browns Investments lost Rs. 1.00 (16.39%) to close at Rs. 5.10.