CSE ends down 0.38%, falls below 20,000 for second time in over 13 months

Wednesday, 21 October 2026 00:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Colombo stock market continued to slide falling below 20,000 points for the second time in over 13 months with sentiment weighed down by oil price volatility and geopolitical tensions.

The ASPI ended down 0.38% or 75.64 points at 19,983.78 and the active S&P SL20 fell 0.34% or 19.24 point to 5,681.51. Turnover was below Rs. 750 million on over 25.8 million shares traded. Foreign investors emerged net sellers on a net outflow of Rs. 59.8 million.

With losers outweighing winner 149 to 57 with the biggest contributions to the ASPI decline being LOLC, DIAL, HNB, LAMB and OSEA.

First Capital Research said weak sentiment continued to weigh on the CSE, with the market extending its downtrend and turnover remaining below the Rs. 1 billion-mark. Volatile oil prices and persistent geopolitical uncertainty continued to dampen investor confidence, keeping market activity subdued.

Muted participation from both retail and HNW segments resulted in the lower than average turnover for the second consecutive day. The topmost contribution to the day’s turnover came from the banking sector, which accounted for 32% of the total, followed by a combined contribution of 30% from the capital goods, and food beverage and tobacco sectors.