The Colombo Bourse witnessed pockets of bargain buying during early trading; however, profit-taking pressures in the latter half dragged the market into negative territory.
The ASPI closed at 23,052 points, recording a decline of 172 points from the previous session. Retail and HNW participation remained comparatively muted throughout the day.
Blue-chip counters led the downturn in the index, while SFCL, HNB, RICH, DFCC, and DIAL emerged as the key negative contributors. Daily market turnover amounted to LKR 4.4Bn, reflecting a 34% drop against the monthly average of LKR 6.7Bn.
The Capital Goods sector dominated market activity, accounting for 33% of total turnover, followed by the Banking, and Food, Beverage & Tobacco sectors, which collectively contributed 31%. Meanwhile, foreign investors remained net sellers, recording an outflow of LKR 100.6Mn for the day.
Steady yields amid mixed activity
The secondary market continued to exhibit mixed sentiment with moderate trading activity, while the overall yield curve remained largely stable.
At the short end, a cluster of 2028 maturities, including 15.01.2028 and 01.05.2028, traded within the 8.95%-9.05% range. In the 2029 segment, the 15.06.2029 and 15.10.2029 maturities traded between 9.42% and 9.48%.
Further along the curve, 01.07.2030 traded at 9.60%, and 01.12.2031 at 10.05%. At the longer end, 01.11.2033 traded at 10.45%, while 15.09.2034 traded around 10.55%.
On the external front, the LKR depreciated against the USD, closing at LKR 307.9/USD compared to LKR 306.4/USD seen previously. Overnight liquidity in the banking system expanded slightly to LKR 87.79Bn from LKR 87.64Bn recorded on the previous day.
Courtesy: First Capital Research
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