News & market updates

Colombo stock market ended the week with marginal losses — the ASPI fell 0.5% for the week (up 0.6% on Friday) with Friday turnover of Rs. 2bn. Ceylon Tobacco announced an interim dividend of Rs. 40.90 per share; notable moves included gains in Royal Ceramics, Dipped Products and Lanka Milk Foods and a decline in John Keells.

Colombo Stock Exchange ASPI rose 0.57% to 12,800 on Friday with turnover Rs2 billion and net foreign inflows of Rs199 million. Top turnover generators included Royal Ceramics, Dipped Products, Lanka Milk Foods, John Keells and Sampath Bank; banking stocks showed mixed moves.

Ceylinco Life was named one of Sri Lanka’s 25 Outstanding Corporates at LMD’s 30th anniversary gala. The recognition highlights its consistent top LMD rankings, including topping the Insurance category and rising 35 places in the overall ranking from 52nd in 2023 to 17th in 2024.

Colombo Bourse closed marginally higher (ASPI +12) with net foreign inflows of Rs.267m, led by strong foreign buying in John Keells (JKH: net +Rs.132.7m; JKH up Rs.4.50 to Rs.198.25). Turnover was Rs.1.6bn; capital goods (via JKH), banking and F&B were top turnover contributors.

Colombo's ASPI fell 4 points to 11,930 as the market stayed bearish, with S&P SL20 down 26 points (0.7%), turnover Rs.1.3bn and net foreign outflow of Rs.18m. Major negatives were HNB, SAMP, COMB, HAYL and JKH while CINS and PKME (PickMe) were among gainers; Commercial Credit and Lankem also rose.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed higher: All Share Index up 1.34% to 10,826 and S&P SL20 up 1.92% to 3,037, with bank stocks leading turnover (Rs424mn) and most banks rising. Net foreign outflow was Rs71mn; foreign buying seen in Ceylinco, Chevron Lubricants and Browns Investments while selling affected Commercial Bank, Access Engineering, Co-operative Insurance, Nations Trust and Sunshine.

ASPI slipped 0.07% to 10,567 while the S&P SL20 rose 0.06%, with turnover at Rs.1.14bn led by the banking sector (63%); key movers included declines in Commercial Bank, HNB, Sampath Bank, John Keells and Ceylinco, while Dipped Products saw mixed interest.

Colombo Stock Exchange fell, with the All Share Index down 0.36% to 10,869 and the S&P SL20 down 0.38% to 3,058. Turnover was 759 million; top turnover/price moves included Renuka Agri Foods and Sampath Bank (up), HNB, John Keells and Commercial Bank (down), with a net foreign inflow of 0.37 million.

Colombo bourse closed mixed: ASPI fell about 12 points to 11,482 while the S&P SL20 gained 2.6 points on turnover of Rs. 547 million, led by Sampath Bank (Rs.112m); banking stocks dominated turnover (32%) while front-line counters showed mixed performance.

Colombo Bourse rose for a fifth straight session as the ASPI gained 1% to close at 11,531 (S&P SL20 +1.3%), with banking and food & beverage stocks led by HNB, SAMP, DFCC, MELS and LMF driving the rally amid Rs.776m turnover.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed higher—ASPI +1.03% and S&P SL20 +1.31%—with banking stocks drawing interest after positive interim results; Hatton National Bank posted a LKR 15.4 billion profit after tax for the six months to June 2024.

Colombo market edged up as S&P SL20 rose 0.3% and ASPI closed at 11,312, with turnover just Rs. 337.4m (down 60.3% vs the month’s average). Commercial Bank, Melstacorp, NDB and Tokyo Cement were top contributors amid mixed activity across banking, capital goods and tourism stocks.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed up (All Share Index +0.08% to 11,312; S&P SL20 +0.28% to 3,233) while turnover remained low at 337 million rupees. Net foreign outflow was 5.7 million, Dialog reported weaker quarterly results, and several banks and listed stocks saw modest foreign buying/selling.

CSE turnover fell to Rs. 320 million — the lowest since May 2020 — as indices closed flat and investors remained cautious amid political uncertainty. Ceylinco (CINS) was the main positive contributor while Central Finance, John Keells, CIC, NDB and Browns featured among top turnover names.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed marginally up with the ASPI +0.01% at 11,294 and turnover just 320 million — the lowest YTD. Central Finance made up 12% of turnover and closed flat at 105.25; Ceylinco, Melstacorp and Hatton National Bank were top ASPI contributors and net foreign outflow was Rs 23 million.