“Market ends lower amid weak investor sentiment”

The Colombo Bourse closed on a mixed note today, with the ASPI declining by 48 points to 22,209 and the S&P SL20 shedding 12 points to close at 6,182.

“Investor sentiment remained cautious as selling pressure in selected blue-chip counters weighed on market performance,” said First Capital Research.

Turnover remained subdued, while both HNW and retail participation stayed at low levels. The main negative contributors to the ASPI were SAMP, JKH, LOLC, GRAN, and RICH.

Daily turnover stood at LKR 1.2Bn, marking a decrease of 55.1% over the monthly average of LKR 2.7Bn. The capital goods sector led the daily turnover with a share of 16%, followed by the Telecommunication and Materials sectors, collectively contributing 32%.

Foreign investors remained net sellers, posting a net outflow of LKR 130.7Mn.

DIAL dominated the overall turnover with LKR 187.4 M (15.7%) followed by BOGA with LKR 120.8 M (10.1%) worth of shares being traded during the session. In terms of volume, SEMB saw 9.3Mn shares being traded (19.3%), whereas SEMB.X accounted for 6.4Mn shares (13.3%). Overall market volume decreased by 25.6% to 48.4Mn.

Foreign investors remained net sellers, posting a net outflow of LKR 130.7Mn. DIAL, LDEV, and SAMP recorded the highest foreign outflows, while SPEN, CINS.X, and COMB attracted the largest foreign inflows.