ASPI falls 2.46% in Sept., down 8% for year

The All Share Price Index (ASPI) fell 2.46% in September and the S&P SL20 Index 1.92%, Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) data showed. This was the ASPI’s sixth monthly decline in the nine months of 2026, against three monthly gains.

Compounding the monthly moves, the ASPI is down about 8.1% for the year to date and the S&P SL20 about 4.3%.

The market entered 2026 on firm footing, with the ASPI rising in each of the last four months of 2025 and adding 5.25% in January. It then plunged 11.24% in March, recovered partly with a 7% gain in April, and traded flat in May and June.

The ASPI fell 5.09% in July and rose 0.99% in August before September’s decline. This took its third-quarter loss to about 6.5%, erasing most of the second quarter’s 6.7% gain.

Central Bank data show net foreign outflows from the CSE of $ 166 million in January to August, exceeding the $ 122 million for the whole of 2025.