CSE remains positive; thin volume persists

The Colombo stock market remained on the up yesterday though closing the week on a negative note whilst investor activity was lacklustre.

The benchmark ASPI gained by 1% and the active S&P SL20 improved by 0.8%. For the week the ASPI was down 72.7 points or 0.8% and the S&P SL20 shed 5 points or 0.2%.

Turnover yesterday was Rs. 862 million involving 36.5 million shares. Average daily turnover for the week was Rs. 1.2 billion. 

Asia Securities said the market closed out the week on a high note with the ASPI recording its biggest percentage gain in two weeks. However, turnover dropped as investors remained on the side-lines eyeing for budget cues. 

LIOC topped the turnover list (Rs. 158 million) followed by ACL (Rs. 55 million), and SPEN (Rs.  45 million). Foreigners returned to buying side, generating a net inflow of Rs. 91 million due to net buying in SPEN (Rs. 42 million), LIOC (Rs. 31 million), and HOPL (Rs. 9 million). 

Asia said following a positive start to the session, the ASPI crossed the 8,400 mark in the first hour of trading and subsequently touched an intra-day high of 8,479 (+156 points|+1.9%) before consolidating at 8,419 (+96 points|+1.2%). ACL (+6.0%), SPEN (+2.1%), LIOC (+3.2%), HAYL (+2.7%), LOLC (+1.9%), and LOFC (+1.5%) closed with significant price increases while LLUB (-6.0%), HEXP (-3.7%), and BALA (-1.0%) settled with losses. The breadth of the market turned positive with price gainers outnumbering by a wide margin of 135 to 53.

First Capital said despite three straight sessions of price gains, the indices ended the week with a cumulative loss. The Bourse thrived in green for the third straight session, depicting revamped investor sentiment especially on positive quarterly results after continuous selling in the previous month which resulted in the ASPI shedding over 1,000 points. 

Index moved on a continuous uptrend since the market opening with retail interest mainly centred on LIOC. However, activities slightly slowed down towards the end of the session as ambiguity rose over the upcoming budget scheduled to take place on Monday. 

NDB Securities said the ASPI closed in green as a result of price gains in counters such as Vallibel One, Hayleys and Lanka IOC.

It said high net worth and institutional investor participation was noted in Aitken Spence, John Keells Holdings and Expolanka Holdings. Mixed interest was observed in Lanka IOC, ACL Cables and Lankem Developments whilst retail interest was noted in Browns Investments, Prime Lands Residencies and Agstar.

The Capital Goods sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to ACL Cables and Aitken Spence) whilst the sector index gained 0.77%. The share price of ACL Cables gained Rs. 4.30 (6.01%) to close at Rs. 75.80. The share price of Aitken Spence moved up by Rs. 2.75 (2.08%) to close at Rs. 134.75.

Food, Beverage & Tobacco sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to Lankem Developments and Browns Investments) whilst the sector index increased by 0.93%. The share price of Lankem Developments recorded a gain of Rs. 1.30 (4.55%) to close at Rs. 29.90. The share price of Browns Investments closed flat at Rs. 5.80.

Lanka IOC was also included among the top turnover contributors. The share price of Lanka IOC increased by Rs. 5.50 (3.16%) to close at Rs. 179.50.

Separately People's Insurance announced its interim dividend of One Rupee per share.