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CSE Highs and Lows

07 Aug 2022

By Shenal Fernando  The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) started the new month on a positive note, as the bourse recorded its best week in months with increased turnover and buying interest being observed throughout the week as investor sentiment turned bullish. The promising performance of the market during the preceding week was the result of the gradual build-up of positive momentum observed during the previous week, led by the plantation and power and energy sectors. On Monday (1), the benchmark All Share Price Index (ASPI) was up by around 100 points during the early hours of the trading session due to gains observed in export businesses, plantation, consumer, and energy sector counters. However, profit-taking in the latter part of the trading session erased part of the early gains and as a result the blue-chip Standard & Poor’s Sri Lanka 20 (S&P SL20) index ended the day in the red. Accordingly, the ASPI reached an intraday high of 7,829.80 points before settling at 7,768.57 points, up 37.42 points (0.48%) compared to the previous day’s close of 7,731.15 points. However, the S&P SL20 index ended the trading session down 3.27% (0.13%), reaching 2,445.29 points from the previous day’s close of 2,448.36. Daily turnover was up 14% at Rs. 1.8 billion with over 75.1 million shares traded compared to Rs. 1.6 billion during the previous day. The market was buzzing on Tuesday (2) due to the release of attractive earnings and favourable economic signals, which gave the necessary motivation for traders, resulting in a highly-positive market session. Accordingly, the ASPI gained 138.95 points during the day, reaching 7,907.52 points (up 1.79%) compared to the previous day’s close of 7,768.57 points. The S&P SL20 index was also up by 56.71 points (2.32%) during the day, reaching 2,501.80 points by market close from the previous day’s close of 2,445.09 points. Daily market turnover increased by 31% to Rs. 2.3 billion, with over 93.5 billion shares traded compared to Rs. 1.8 billion during the previous day. About 25% of the turnover recorded at the CSE was from Lanka IOC PLC (LIOC), as the company recorded a turnover of Rs. 583 million, while Expolanka Holdings PLC (EXPO) recorded a turnover of Rs. 183 million, taking second place. LIOC was the top contributor to the ASPI with a 13.4 basis point contribution, followed by EXPO and HAYL at 12.7% and 10.3%, respectively. The market continued its positive trend on Wednesday (3), ending the day at over 8,000 points for the first time in two months, boosted by a rally observed in EXPO. Accordingly, the ASPI thus ended the day up by 172.62 points (2.18%), reaching 8,080.14 points by market close from the previous day’s close of 7,907.52 points. Similarly, the S&P SL20 index was up by 84.25 points, reaching 2,586.05 points from the previous day’s close of 2,501.80 points. Daily market turnover was once again up by over 12%, reaching Rs. 2.7 billion with over 123.5 million shares traded compared to Rs. 2.4 billion during the previous day.  


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