The Colombo Bourse ended lower today, with the ASPI declining 80 points to close at 21,149, while the S&P SL20 fell 15 points to close at 5,946.

The market witnessed thin trading volumes during the morning session, while increased month-end selling pressure weighed on investor sentiment and pushed indices lower by the close.

“High net worth investor participation remained low, while retail investor participation was at average levels. SPEN, CINS, COMB, ACL and RICH were the major negative contributors to the ASPI,” First Capital Research said.

Daily turnover stood at Rs. 1.1 billion, marking a 38.3% decline from the monthly average of Rs. 1.8 billion. The Capital Goods sector led daily turnover with a 36% share, followed by the Banking and Real Estate Management & Development sectors, which collectively contributed 28%.

Foreign investors remained net sellers, recording a net outflow of Rs. 0.7 million.

HAYL dominated overall turnover with Rs. 195.3 million, accounting for 17.8% of market turnover, followed by JKH with Rs. 69.9 million worth of shares traded during the session.

In terms of volume, SEMB recorded the highest activity with 4.3 million shares traded, representing 13.6% of total market volume, while JKH accounted for 3.5 million shares or 11.2%. Overall market volume declined 64% to 31.4 million shares.

SAMP, RICH and SPEN recorded the highest foreign outflows, while COMB, BIL and HASU attracted the largest foreign inflows.