CSE continues slide, dragged down by profit taking

Wednesday, 19 November 2025 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Colombo stock market continued to slide with both indices closing in red yesterday on selling pressure as investors continued to book profits after a post-Budget rally last week.

The benchmark ASPI closed 0.74% down, losing 172.02 point to 23,051.66 and the active S&P SL20 ended 0.52% lower, down 33.46 points to 6,376.54.

Turnover was over Rs. 4.4 billion on nearly Rs. 137.82 million shares traded, and foreign investors remained net sellers with a net outflow of Rs. 100.6 million.

First Capital Research said the stock market witnessed pockets of bargain buying during early trading, however, profit-taking pressures in the latter half dragged the market into negative territory.

Retail and HNW participation remained comparatively muted throughout the day. Blue-chip counters led the downturn in the index, while SFCL, HNB, RICH, DFCC, and DIAL emerged as the key negative contributors

The Capital Goods sector dominated market activity, accounting for 33% of total turnover, followed by the Banking, and Food, Beverage and Tobacco sectors, which collectively contributed 31%.