FINANCIAL CHRONICLE – On Monday, the Colombo Stock Exchange’s All Shares Price Index (ASPI) recorded a slight increase after a midday downturn, according to data from the CSE. The ASPI rose by 0.04 percent, equating to 9.18 points, finishing at 21,126.60.
In contrast, the S&P SL20 index saw a decline of 0.24 percent, down by 14.24 points to settle at 5,861.45.
Raynal Wickremeratne, the Head of Strategy at Softlogic Stockbrokers, commented on the market’s fluctuations, attributing some volatility to statements made by former President Trump, particularly his provocative remarks regarding potential military action against Iran. He also noted that a two-point ceasefire proposal from Pakistan might have contributed to the market’s rebound following its earlier drop.
Key gainers for the ASPI included DFCC Bank, which rose by 1.82 percent to Rs.139.75, Cargills Bank with a 2.11 percent increase to Rs.703.25, and Access Engineering, which climbed 2.21 percent to Rs.69.50.
On the other hand, major decliners included Commercial Bank, which fell 1.24 percent to Rs.199.25, Hatton National Bank, down 1.13 percent to Rs.395.00, and Melstacorp, which decreased by 0.73 percent to Rs.169.50. The banking sector faced pressure following NDB’s disclosure of an internal fraud resulting in a loss of 13.4 billion rupees, leading to a suspension of trading for its stock at Rs.130.50.
Market analysts expressed that they are monitoring whether this incident is an isolated case or indicative of broader issues within the sector. Dimantha Matthew, Chief Research and Strategy Officer at First Capital Holdings PLC, noted that while there was selling pressure on banking stocks, a recovery began post-midday as buying interest returned, particularly for JKH and construction stocks.
The overall market turnover reached 3.029 billion rupees, with the food, beverage, and tobacco sectors contributing 1.014 billion rupees to this total. Notable crossings included Melstacorp (4,563,820 shares), JKH (2 million shares), and Tokyo Cement (654,213 shares).
In international market updates, India’s Nifty50 index ended with a slight increase of 0.065 percent, reaching 22,694.25 points, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index experienced a decline of 0.70 percent, closing at 25,116.53 points.
