Profit taking on John Keells Holdings and Banking sector
stocks sent the broader index into negative territory but Distilleries saw
continued interest from retail and as well as institutional investors. Retail
participation continued to be muted whilst private deals on blue-chips helped
to bolster turnover.
ASI lost 12.89 points (0.22%) to close at 5,732.21 and the
S&P SL20 index gained 0.66 points (0.02%) to close at 3,121.53 Turnover was
Rs. 1,013.1Mn.
Top contributors to turnover were Hatton National Bank with
Rs. 257.9Mn, Distilleries with Rs. 188.2Mn and John Keells Holdings with Rs.
160.3Mn. Most active counters for the day were LOLC, Free Lanka Capital
Holdings and Nation Lanka Finance.
Notable gainers for the day were Raigam Wayamba Salt up by
3.9% to close at Rs. 2.70, Colonial Motors up by 3.5% to close at Rs. 150.00
and Nawaloka Hospitals up by 3.3% to close at Rs. 3.10. Notable losers for the
day were Orient Finance down by 9.5% to close at Rs. 15.30, Kelani Valley
Plantations down by 4.6% to close at Rs. 81.00 and Chilaw Finance down by 1.4%
to close at Rs. 14.10.
Cash map for today was 41.55% which is an improvement from
yesterday. Foreign participation was 60% of total market turnover whilst net
foreign inflow was Rs. 139.5Mn.
