Colombo Bourse ends higher as turnover jumps on strong investor participation

The Colombo Bourse ended in positive territory today, with the All Share Price Index (ASPI) gaining 4 points to close at 21,150, while the S&P SL20 Index declined by 12 points to 5,933.

Investor sentiment remained positive following the Central Bank of Sri Lanka's decision to keep policy interest rates unchanged, supporting buying interest despite the mixed performance of the benchmark indices.

“Both high net worth (HNW) and retail investor participation remained strong throughout the session, contributing to increased market activity. First Capital Research The main positive contributors to the ASPI were SEYB, LION, PKME, CARG and SEMB.X,” said First Capital Research.

Daily turnover rose to Rs. 3.5 Bn, up 113.2% from the monthly average of Rs. 1.7 Bn. The Real Estate Management & Development sector accounted for 65% of total turnover, driven by a higher number of crossings in ONAL, followed by the Banking and Diversified Financials sectors, which together contributed 15%.

ONAL dominated turnover with Rs. 2,262.7 Mn (64.1%), followed by NTB with Rs. 160.2 Mn (4.5%). In terms of volume, ONAL led with 47.3 million shares (52.0%), while DIAL accounted for 3.0 million shares (3.3%). Overall market volume increased by 136.4% to 91.1 million shares.

Foreign investors remained net sellers, recording a net outflow of Rs. 240.7 Mn. DIAL, SAMP and JKH posted the highest foreign outflows, while HAYC, CDB and LMF attracted the largest foreign inflows.