CSE begins new week negatively

Tuesday, 25 February 2025 02:16 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Colombo stock market yesterday began a fresh week negatively, proving last Friday’s rebound was short-lived.

Both indices declined by 1.3%. Turnover was Rs. 2.2 billion involving 73 million shares.

First Capital said the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) was gripped by heightened volatility amid subdued investor activity and lower volumes. The ASPI tumbled during the early hours of the trading session and remained subdued throughout the day, though a few mild attempts at recovery were evident. Consequently, the ASPI concluded the day in red at 16,672, denoting a downtick of nearly 218 points.

The Banking sector exerted noteworthy adverse pressure on the ASPI, with HNB, NDB, COMB, and DFCC emerging as the top negative contributors alongside CFIN. SEMB, CSF, and LLUB were the top positive contributors to the ASPI.

Turnover also followed suit, dwindling to Rs. 2.1 billion from Rs. 3.5 billion registered in the previous session. This marks a 61.2% dip from the monthly average of Rs. 5.5 billion. It was the Banking sector that dominated contributions to turnover at 35%. This was followed by the Capital Goods and the Food, Beverage and Tobacco sectors, which produced a joint contribution of 26%.

Finally, foreign investors were net sellers amid dormant participation. The market registered a total outflow of Rs 5.4 million.