Friday 25 January 2013

Quote for the day


“Trading is not about being right. It is about putting money into the account. That’s it. Everything else is secondary.” -Ned Davis

LSL Weekly Report - 24th Jan 2013



Profit taking on blue-chips drove the indices lower on Monday amidst heavy retail activity on LOLC. A parcel of Environmental Resource Investments changed hands yet again today. People’s Leasing & Finance also saw renewed retail activity with the merger with its subsidiary company round the corner.

ASI lost 13.75 points (0.23%) to close at 5,862.02 and the S&P SL20 index lost 0.25 points (0.01%) to close at 3,174.42. Turnover was Rs. 899.9m.

Market rebounded on Tuesday with the help of blue-chips such as Nestle, People’s Leasing & Finance, Distilleries and few banking sector shares. Retail activity remained strong on few mid-capped counters whilst negotiated deals on Browns Investments and Commercial Bank helped to prop up the turnover. Yields on all three maturing treasury bills fell further in today’s auction which will positively impact the performance of the equity market.

ASI gained 8.91 points (0.15%) to close at 5,870.93 and the S&P SL20 index gained 10.46 points (0.33%) to close at 3,184.57. turnover was Rs. 2,096.2Mn.

The broader market index on Wednesday managed close with positive returns today mainly supported by the price appreciations in banking and finance sector counters namely LOLC (up LKR 1.20), DFCC Bank (up LKR 2.00) and National Development Bank (up LKR 1.10) namely Sampath Bank (up LKR 3.50). Commercial Bank, Peoples Leasing & Finance and Carson Cumberbatch witnessed institutional interest where almost half of the turnover was recorded from negotiated deals.

ASI gained 12.73 points (0.22%) to close at 5,883.66and the S&P SL20 index gained 7.23 points (0.23%) to close at 3,191.80.


On Friday, profit taking on selected blue-chips drove indices marginally lower ahead of a long weekend. Blue-chips dominated turnover whilst retail activity seemed calm. This slowdown in momentum is seen as slight correction with positive activity expected in the near term.

ASI dipped 5.47 points (0.09%) to close at 5,878.19 and the S&P SL20 index lost 1.15 points (0.04%) to close at 3,190.65. Turnover was Rs. 569.3m.

Top contributors to turnover were Commercial Bank with Rs. 117.1m, Sampath bank with Rs. 90.8m and Aitken Spence with Rs. 37.9m. Most active counters for the day were Environmental Resource Investments, HVA Foods and People’s Leasing & Finance.

Notable gainers for the day were Singer Sri Lanka up by 4.7% to close at Rs. 111.90, Kegalle Plantations up by 4.0% to close at Rs. 110.00 and Bairaha Farms up by 2.2% to close at Rs. 155.00. Notable losers for the day were Lanka Floor Tiles down by 4.6% to close at Rs. 60.20, People’s Leasing & Finance down by 4.4% to close at Rs. 15.40 and Free Lanka Capital Holdings down by 3.9% to close at Rs. 2.50.

Cash map was a disappointing 29.2%. Foreign participation was 29.9% of total market turnover whilst net foreign selling was Rs. 99.3m.

Analyst’s note:
Market saw retail activity picking up this week helped news of lowering interest rates. However, in the meantime foreigners have been net sellers which indicate they are making advantage of market cycles. Investors are advise to stick to value investing.