CSE lifted by Fitch sovereign upgrade

Wednesday, 23 September 2026 04:56 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Colombo stock market yesterday made a strong recovery on buoyant investor sentiment on the back of Fitch Ratings’ upgrade of Sri Lanka’s sovereign credit rating.

With 120 counters ending in green against 86 in red, the ASPI ended up 0.36% or 74/83 points at 21,054.01 and the active S&P SL20 gained 0.33% or 19.41 points to 5,928.86.

Market turnover was over Rs. 1.37 billion on over 58 million shares traded. Foreign investors were net sellers on a net outflow of Rs. 62 million. The top contributors to the ASPI were DIAL, HNB, AEL, OSEA and CCS.

First Capital Research said the bourse witnessed a revival in activity levels as investors rallied on the back of Fitch’s upgrade of Sri Lanka’s credit rating from CCC+ to B-. The main index succumbed to negative pressure in the early hours of trading, before reversing course and ascending continuously and sharply as the positive news caught investor attention.

Both retail and HNW investor participation witnessed a revival from the subdued levels seen in the previous few sessions. The highest contribution to turnover came from the capital goods sector, amounting to 25%, followed by the materials sector and the banking sector, which jointly produced 30%.

NDB Securities said high net worth and institutional investor participation was noted in John Keells Holdings, Ceylon Cold Stores and Hatton National Bank nonvoting. Mixed interest was observed in E B Creasy and Company, Swisstek and Nations Trust Bank whilst retail interest was noted in UB Finance Company, Co-Operative Insurance Company and Softlogic Capital.

The capital goods sector was the top contributor to the market turnover due to John Keells Holdings, E B Creasy and Company and Sierra Cables whilst the sector index gained 0.74%. The share price of John Keells Holdings fell 10 cents to Rs. 19, E B Creasy and Company was down 80 cents to Rs. 34.10, and Sierra Cables was up Rs. 1.10 to close at Rs. 35.90.

The materials sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover due to Dipped Products whilst the sector index increased by 1.82%. Dipped Products gained 60 cents to Rs. 58.

Softlogic Life Insurance was also included amongst the top turnover contributors with the share ending up Rs. 1.10 at Rs. 76.50.