Net foreign inflow nears Rs. 3 b mark but locals turn bearish

Wednesday, 8 February 2023 00:32 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Colombo stock market worsened its dip yesterday thanks to bearish local investors but foreigners stepped up buying taking the YTD net foreign inflow closer to Rs. 3 billion mark.

Overall foreign buying crossed the Rs. 1 billion mark for the first time in over one and half months. Net foreign buying was Rs. 679 million pushing the month to date inflow to Rs. 2.5 billion and YTD to Rs. 2.9 billion.

Top diversified blue chip John Keells Holdings continued to draw net foreign buying with yesterday’s value being Rs. 352 million. Aitken Spence was Rs. 288 million in net buying followed by Tokyo Cement X (Rs. 18.6 million).

Asia Securities said the indices moved downwards on Tuesday as investors extended profit-taking for a second session while foreign investors continued accumulating positions in JKH and SPEN.

Front-line stocks EXPO (-2.2%), SCAP (-2.4%), BIL (-3.2%), LIOC (-1.8%), LOLC (-3.3%), and AAIC (-2.6%) closed lower while banking sector stocks HNB (-1.0%), SAMP (-4.6%), PABC (-2.6%), and COMBN (-0.5%) remained in red. On the flipside, TKYOX (+3.0%), TKYON (+1.8%), NTB (+2.6%) and COMX (+0.4%) ended with gains in an otherwise negative session.

SAMP (-19 points), VONE (-17 points), and EXPO (-9 points) were the biggest laggards on the ASPI. The breadth of the market remained negative with 42 price gainers and 127 decliners.

Turnover yesterday was Rs. 2.2 billion and was led by JKH (Rs. 765 million), SPEN (Rs. 303 million), and EXPO (Rs. 127 million).

First Capital said the bourse closed lower for the second straight session as a selling spree emerged on the Banking sector following the statement made by the CBSL Governor on the possibility of restructuring bank loans due to the higher impact on salaries amidst the progressive tax.

The Index tumbled steeply and fell below 9,000 level during today’s session to close the day at 8,976, losing 124 points as profit-taking emerged on index heavyweights (mainly EXPO and LOLC).

Foreign buying topped Rs. 1 billion after 1½-month whilst MTD net foreign inflow crossed Rs. 2 billion led by JKH as bullish sentiment continued on JKH which alone contributed 16% to the overall turnover during the session.

NDB Securities said high net worth and institutional investor participation was noted in Lanka Tiles, John Keells Holdings and Hatton National Bank. Mixed interest was observed in Expolanka Holdings, Aitken Spence and Softlogic Life Insurance whilst retail interest was noted in Softlogic Capital, Browns Investments and Ex-Pack Corrugated Cartons.

The Capital Goods sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to John Keells Holdings and Aitken Spence) whilst the sector index lost 0.54%. The share price of John Keells Holdings closed flat at Rs. 145.50. The share price of Aitken Spence closed flat at Rs. 150.

The Materials sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover whilst the sector index decreased by 0.31%. Expolanka Holdings, Softlogic Capital and Browns Investments were also included amongst the top turnover contributors. The share price of Expolanka Holdings moved

down by Rs. 4.25 to Rs. 189.75. The share price of Softlogic Capital dipped by 40 cents to Rs. 16.

The share price of Browns Investments declined 20 cents to Rs. 6.