Colombo stock market remains bearish amidst low activity

The Colombo stock market remained bearish yesterday as investors booked profit whilst foreigners turned net buyers.

The active S&P SL20 declined by 0.8% and the benchmark ASPI declined by 0.6%. Turnover was low at Rs. 640 million involving 33 million shares.

Foreigners recorded a net inflow of Rs. 13.7mn with net foreign buying most in BFL at Rs.

11.5mn and selling most in CIC.X at Rs. 2.7mn.

Asia Securities said the indices closed lower dragged by HAYL (-1.9%), LOFC (-3.6%), HHL (-1.8%), and LMF (-1.1%). Meanwhile, PLR (+2.4%), DIAL (+2.6%), CTC (+1.7%), and CALT (+1.2%) saw price gains during the session. HNB (-10 points) came in as the major laggard on the ASPI for the day followed by SPEN (-6 points), and JKH (-6 points). The breadth of the market remained negative with 55 price gainers and 110 decliners.

Turnover was led by CFLB (Rs. 40mn), and BIL (Rs. 29mn).

First Capital said the Bourse closed in the red for the fourth consecutive session by exhibiting a complete downtrend as profit-taking persisted on major banking and blue-chip counters, including HNB, COMB, SPEN, JKH, and HAYL.

With selling sentiment dominating amidst profit-taking, the index experienced a continuous decline, closing below the 11,200 level at 11,177, marking a loss of 64 points. However, active collection continued on CTC and DIAL, while positive sentiment arose on poultry counters such as CIC and BFL. Turnover further decreased to over a 1-month low, and remained 63% below the month’s daily average as retailers sidelined, with less than 10,000 trades recorded during the day. Additionally, the Capital Goods and Food, Beverage, and Tobacco sectors significantly contributed to the overall turnover, jointly accounting for 43%.

NDB Securities said high net worth and institutional investor participation was noted in Colombo Fort Land and Building. Mixed interest was observed in Browns Investments, Chevron Lubricants, and Ceylon Grain Elevators whilst retail interest was noted in Prime Lands Residencies, LOLC Finance, and Dialog Axiata.

The Capital Goods sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to The Colombo Fort Land and Building) whilst the sector index lost 1.12%. The share price of Colombo Fort Land and Building closed flat at Rs. 30.

The Food, Beverage, and Tobacco sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to Browns Investments and Ceylon Grain Elevators) while the sector index decreased by 0.61%. The share price of Browns Investments lost 10 cents to Rs. 5.10. The share price of Ceylon Grain Elevators recorded a gain of one Rupee to Rs. 165.

Chevron Lubricants and Prime Lands Residencies were included among the top turnover contributors. The share price of Chevron Lubricants moved down by 50 cents to Rs. 103.25. The share price of Prime Lands Residencies appreciated by 20 cents to Rs. 8.60.