Economy & Market

CSE sees soft rebound

The All Share Price Index (ASPI) increased by 885.14 points to settle at 21,917.60 points – representing a 4.21% increase and a turnover value of Rs. 6.61 billion at the close of trading yesterday (8) at the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), its daily report said.

Meanwhile, the S&P SL20 gained 257.68 points, settling at 6,090.50 points – representing a 4.42 % increase. During the day, global risk on sentiment saw a rally after the announcement of a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran. Further, Brent crude oil prices fell by 16% per barrel.

Across the performance of regional peers, CSE’s gains were relatively high, only outperformed by South Korea and Pakistan, which respectively gained by 6.9% and 9.32%.

While total equity turnover for the day was recorded at Rs. 6.61 billion, market capitalisation increased by 4.13% to Rs. 7.85 trillion. A collective total of 64 companies traded during the session out of 271 listed companies, with share volume reaching 247.8 million shares across 42,293 trades.

During the day, domestic investors were net buyers with purchases reaching Rs. 612.4 million, while foreign investors were net sellers, recording net outflows of Rs. 612.4 million. Foreign participation represented approximately 6.9 % of total purchases and 11.5% of total sales. The market's price-to-earnings ratio stood at 11.12 times, while the dividend yield was 2.94 %.

The top positive contributors to the ASPI were John Keells Holdings, which was up by 6.49 %, Commercial Bank (up by 6.01%), Hatton National Bank (up 4.58%), Dialog Axiata, and Colombo Dockyard. The top gainers for the day were Kapruka, up 23.71%; HVA Foods, up 20.29%; Sathosa Motors, up 20.02%; Lanka Ashok, up 19.60%; and Sarvodaya Development Finance, up 19.30%.

By turnover, the top contributors were National Development Bank with Rs. 820.1 million; John Keells Holdings with Rs. 457.8 million; Singer Sri Lanka with Rs. 383.5 million; Softlogic Capital with Rs. 336.5 million; and Lanka Milk Foods with Rs. 319.1 million.

In sectoral performance, the Banks sector led turnover with Rs. 1.58 billion, followed by Capital Goods with Rs. 1.33 billion and Food, Beverage & Tobacco with Rs. 859 million. The Banks sector traded at a P/E of 5.43 times, while Capital Goods traded at 19.23 times.

source: The Morning