FINANCIAL CHRONICLE – The Colombo Stock Exchange in Sri Lanka experienced a positive start and maintained its upward momentum during midday trading on Friday, as indicated by data on their official website, just before the extended weekend.

The All Share Price Index increased by 1.34 percent, equating to a rise of 293.64 points, bringing the index to a total of 22,138.18.

Similarly, the S&P SL20 index saw a gain of 1.35 percent, which corresponds to an increase of 81.73 points, resulting in a total of 6,157.91.

The trading turnover reached 2.5 billion rupees.

The National Development Bank announced that it has listed 5,308,377 ordinary voting shares effective from April 10, as part of a scrip dividend distribution at a ratio of 1:80.4180744886808. The shares were observed trading up by 3 rupees, bringing their price to 116.75.

Additionally, trading for HNB Finance stocks (HNBF.N0000 and HNBF.X0000) has been suspended pending further disclosures.

(Colombo/Apr10/2026)