Tuesday 19 February 2013

Quote for the day


“Don’t get in a shoot-out if you've left your guns at home. The markets are no place to be trying to impress people. The only way to impress anybody is to stay on your toes, be consistent, and trade within your means.”  –  Marty Schwartz

LSL Market Review 19th Feb 2013


Indices closed lower again today with many blue-chips losing ground whilst John Keells Holdings managing to hold steady. Large deals on banking counters Hatton National Bank and Commercial Bank helped to boost turnover on day dominated by blue-chips. A period of stock picking is upon us as we can expect a slight bearish trend in the near term.

ASI lost 37.11 points (0.64%) to close at 5,737.48 and the S&P SL20 index lost 10.71 points (0.33%) to close at 3,238.57. Turnover was Rs. 1,520.3Mn.

Top contributors to turnover were Hatton National Bank with Rs. 799.5Mn, Commercial Bank with Rs. 281.0Mn and John Keells Holdings with Rs. 197.6Mn. Most active counters for the day were Central Investments & Finance, Sampath bank and John Keells Holdings.

Notable gainers for the day were Dunamis Capital up by 6.9% to close at Rs. 12.40, Asia Asset Finance up by 4.2% to close at Rs. 2.50 and Pan Asian Power up by 3.70% to close at Rs. 2.80. Notable losers for the day were City Housing down by 5.0% to close at Rs. 13.20, Dankotuwa Porcelain down by 4.9% to close at Rs. 15.70 and Lankem Ceylon Down by 4.3% to close at Rs. 155.00.

Cash map for today was 34.75%. Foreign participation was 68.76% of total market turnover whilst net foreign buying was Rs. 301.1Mn.