FINANCIAL CHRONICLE – The Colombo Stock Exchange in Sri Lanka experienced a decline in trading on Wednesday, according to data from the CSE, with the benchmark All Share Price Index (ASPI) falling by 0.61 percent.

The ASPI decreased by 133.80 points, closing at 21,828.50. In addition, the more actively traded S&P SL20 index also saw a decline of 0.59 percent, equivalent to a drop of 35.98 points, ending at 6,099.52.

Among the stocks contributing positively to the ASPI were Richard Pieris and Company, which rose by 4.38 percent to 31.00 rupees, Industrial Asphalts (Ceylon), which surged by 60.00 percent to 0.80 rupees, and Hatton National Bank, which edged up by 0.19 percent to 396.00 rupees.

Conversely, notable negative contributors included Sampath Bank, which fell by 0.88 percent to 140.25 rupees, Hayleys, which declined by 1.37 percent to 234.00 rupees, Dialog Axiata, down by 1.35 percent to 44.00 rupees, and LOLC Holdings, which decreased by 1.77 percent to 500.25 rupees.

The total market turnover for the day was 2.26 billion rupees, with the capital goods sector leading this figure at 727.1 million rupees.

In a significant corporate development, Industrial Asphalts (Ceylon) announced that its Executive Director has entered into a binding agreement to transfer a 48.03 percent controlling stake (1.8 billion shares) to Arcasia Investment & Trading and ATX Partners, pending regulatory approvals. The company’s shares closed up 60 percent at 0.80 rupees.

Additionally, Hela Apparel Holdings revealed that its fully-owned subsidiary, Hela Clothing Egypt, has established a management services agreement with Emerald Investments to oversee its factory operations until December 31, 2026. This move comes in response to working capital challenges, with an option for Emerald to acquire the Egyptian entity in the future. (Colombo/July08/2026)