CSE falls to one-month low, turnover hits near five-month low

Friday, 28 November 2025 04:21 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Colombo stock market fell sharply yesterday on subdued investor activity, with the ASPI closing at its second lowest point since 28 October and turnover hitting a near five-month low.

The ASPI closed down 0.80% or 182.14 points to 22,662.09 yesterday. The index has lost ground since peaking at 23,659.70 in 12 November. The active S&P SL20 ended down 0.68% or 42.85 points to 6,268.45.

Turnover and volume were low at over Rs. 2.34 billion on nearly 71.6 million shares traded. Foreign investors were net sellers with a net outflow of Rs. 103.46 million.

First Capital Research said the market was weighed down by weak investor interest and reduced turnover which fell 57.5% below the monthly average. The day’s turnover was the lowest since 7 July 2025

The day’s negative contributions were driven primarily by banking counters SAMP, COMB, and HNB supplemented by declines in RICH and DIAL.

Capital Goods sector accounted for 31% of total turnover, followed by Diversified Financials and Banking sectors, which collectively contributed 26%.

NDB Securities said high net worth and institutional investor participation was noted in Hemas Holdings, Diesel & Motor Engineering and LOLC Holdings. Mixed interest was observed in Access Engineering, ACL Cables and John Keells Holdings while retail interest was noted in Lanka Credit and Business Finance, LOLC Finance and HNB Finance.

The Capital Goods sector was the top contributor to the market turnover due to Hemas Holdings, Access

Engineering and ACL Cables, with the sector index losing 0.81%.

The share price of Hemas Holdings decreased by 20 cents to close at Rs. 35.50 and Access Engineering recorded a loss of 70 cents to close at Rs. 69.90. The share price of ACL Cables declined by Rs. 1.75 to Rs. 219.

The Diversified Financials sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover on LOLC Holdings while the sector index decreased by 0.64%.

The share price of LOLC Holdings edged down 50 cents to Rs. 550 while Diesel & Motor Engineering was also included amongst the top turnover contributors. The share price of Diesel & Motor Engineering lost Rs. 111 to close at Rs. 2,174.50.