Bourse closed in the green for the second consecutive day, with yet another marginal increase of 6 points from yesterday. ASPI fluctuated from red to green throughout the session, as mixed sentiment was observed among the investors today but ended the day at 10,311 and thereby concluded the month of January with a monthly drop of 343 points.

Market turnover was recorded at LKR 695.8Mn 2% lower than the average monthly turnover of LKR 712.5Mn. SAMP was the largest contributor to the total market turnover with an off- board transaction of 1.0Mn shares at LKR 68.0 per share took place. Foreign investors remained net sellers today with YTD net foreign outflow exceeding LKR 2Bn.

Yields edge down significantly across the board

The secondary market experienced significant buying interest amidst high volumes throughout the day, both before and after today's T-bill auction. Notably, the 2026 maturities traded at a low of 12.15%, whilst the 2027, 2028, 2030, and 2032 maturities were observed trading at 12.75%, 12.85%, 13.30%, and 13.65%, respectively.

Meanwhile, at the weekly bill auction today, CBSL fully accepted the total offered of LKR 160.0Bn, whilst auction yields significantly edged down across the board by over 75bps.

CBSL accepted the total offered of LKR 40.0Bn, LKR 70.0Bn, and LKR 50.0Bn for the 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day maturities, respectively. Moreover, the 91-day maturity was accepted at a weighted average yield of 11.97% (-138Bps), and the 182-day and 364-day maturities were accepted at 12.20% (-121Bps) and 12.00% (-78Bps), respectively.

Furthermore, in the forex market, LKR marginally appreciated against the greenback and closed at LKR 317.4 at the end of the day.

Courtesy: First Capital Research