Thursday Sep 03, 2026
Thursday Sep 03, 2026
Thursday, 3 September 2026 00:21 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Net foreign outflows from the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) more than doubled year-on-year (YoY) to Rs. 55.7 billion during the first eight months of 2026, as foreign selling increased while purchases declined, according to data analysed by CT Smith Securities.
The cumulative outflow compared with Rs. 22.34 billion during the corresponding period of 2025, representing an increase of Rs. 33.36 billion.
Foreign sales rose 44.6% to Rs. 85.3 billion during the eight months to end-August from Rs. 59 billion a year earlier, while foreign purchases fell 19% to Rs. 29.6 billion from Rs. 36.6 billion.
The divergence saw foreign sales exceed purchases by nearly three times during the period.
August recorded a net foreign outflow of Rs. 19.46 billion, which CT Smith Securities identified as a record high. The month’s net outflow accounted for 19.3% of total market turnover.
Foreign activity during August was concentrated in several counters.
United Motors Lanka PLC recorded net foreign buying of Rs. 1.03 billion, followed by Melstacorp PLC with Rs. 240.1 million and Seylan Bank PLC voting shares with Rs. 197.6 million.
On the selling side, Commercial Credit and Finance PLC recorded net foreign selling of Rs. 9.58 billion, accounting for nearly half of the month’s overall net foreign outflow.
Cargills (Ceylon) PLC followed with net foreign selling of Rs. 4.07 billion, while R I L Property PLC recorded Rs. 2.7 billion in net foreign selling. Together, the three counters accounted for Rs. 16.35 billion in net foreign selling during August, amounting to 84% of the total net outflow.
Despite the net foreign outflow, the CSE ended August on a positive note, with the benchmark All Share Price Index (ASPI) gaining 1% month-on-month (MoM) to 21,339 points, while the more liquid S&P SL20 rose 1.2% to 6,010 points.
Trading activity also strengthened, with average daily turnover rising 94.2% to Rs. 3.6 billion in August from Rs. 1.86 billion in July.
The market traded at a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 11.2 times at end-August, up from 9.8 times a year earlier, indicating that equities were valued more highly relative to earnings.
