CSE begins March with modest gain

The Colombo stock market yesterday began March with modest gain as local investors remain wary for want of emphatic positive news.

The benchmark ASPI gained by 34 points or 0.37% and the active S&P SL20 by over 8 points or 0.3%. Turnover was Rs. 1.27 billion involving 43 million shares.



In the first two months of 2023, the ASPI is up 8.6% and the S&P SL20 is up 6.44%.

Asia Securities said the indices pared gains following a sharp gap-up opening due to price losses in LLUB (-3.5%), EXPO (-1.0%), SUN (-0.5%), CALT (-1.2%), and SLTL (-1.6%). On the other hand, SCAP (+5.5%), AAIC (+5.6%), JKH (+1.5%), TKYON (+5.7%), TKYOX (+5.0%), DIST (+4.5%), AEL (+5.3%), and GHLL (+5.4%) witnessed steady domestic buying during the session.

Earlier, the ASPI commenced the session on a positive note and reached an intra-day high of 9,270 (+82 points) in early trading. Thereupon, the index reversed course and trimmed gains to close marginally higher at 9,223 (+34 points). The breadth of the market turned positive with 97 price gainers and 81 decliners.

Market activity remained at moderate levels with turnover coming in at Rs. 1.3 billion (previous session-Rs. 1.4 billion). 

Asia also said foreigners ended on the buying side with a net inflow of Rs. 21 million led by TKYOX (Rs. 31 million) and RICH (Rs. 22 million) while LLUB (Rs. 33 million) and HNBN (Rs. 31 million) topped net foreign outflows.

First Capital said the bourse closed in green after two days of losses as buying sentiment slightly improved on index-heavy weights and banking counters, but retail participation continued to remain subdued with investors being sidelined owing to the lingering political uncertainty with protests taking place.

It said the Index surged sharply as the market commenced and reached an intraday high of 9,273. Subsequently, ASPI edged low and moved broadly stable with investor interest continuing to be observed on LIOC following the opening of new sheds while Hotel sector counter witnessed positive activities too. On that note, index slightly recouped losses and turned to the green at 9,223 gaining 34 points. However, activities took a dull turn on treasury counters as investors took a wait-and-see approach ahead of the monetary policy review meeting that is scheduled for 3 March, Friday.

NDB Securities said high net worth and institutional investor participation was noted in Lanka IOC, Chevron Lubricants and Bukit Darah. Mixed interest was observed in Hatton National Bank, Sampath Bank and John Keells Holdings whilst retail interest was noted in Softlogic Capital, Amana Bank and Access Engineering.

The Energy sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to Lanka IOC) whilst the sector index gained 0.62%. The share price of Lanka IOC increased by one Rupee to Rs. 199.

The Food, Beverage & Tobacco sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to Bukit Darah) whilst the sector index increased by 0.40%. The share price of Bukit Darah gained Rs. 12.50 (3.15%) to Rs. 409.75.

Hatton National Bank, Sampath Bank and Softlogic Capital were also included amongst the top turnover contributors. The share price of Hatton National Bank gained 50 cents to Rs. 105.50. The share price of Sampath Bank moved up by 30 cents to Rs. 52. The share price of Softlogic Capital appreciated by 60 cents to Rs. 11.50.

Separately Ceylon Tobacco Company PLC announced its fifth interim cash dividend of Rs. 30 per share.