Quote for the day

“Market action is not complex but surprisingly simple. Yet it is often made to appear complex by newspaper forecasters and market letter writers." - Burton Pugh

LSL Weekly Market Review 01st Mar 2013

Market started on a negative note on Tuesday as negative developments in the macro-economic front and motions against Sri Lanka at the UNHCR factored in during trading. Most blue-chips lost ground as retail selling also picked up. Private deals on blue-chips helped buoy turnover levels. The market is developing into a buyers’ market whereby opportunities for bargain hunting will arise. ASI lost 66.13 points (1.15%) to close at 5,669.48 and the S&P SL20 index lost 27.86 points (0.86%) to close at 3,195.42. Turnover was Rs. 714.0Mn.

Indices rebounded from Tuesday’s steep drop helped by gains on banking and financials. CTC dropped during trading, as investors feel the counter may be overvalued at these current prices. However, market continued to offer plenty of opportunities for bargain hunters whilst retailers continue to be muted. Yields on treasury bills remained at previous levels for the second week running which should indicate that rates should hold steady at the rates. ASI gained 4.99 points (0.09%) to close at 5,674.47 and the S&P SL20 index gained 8.61 points (0.27%) to close at 3,210.82. Turnover was Rs. 623.1Mn.

Losses on Ceylon Tobacco Company and John Keells Holdings saw indices driven lower on Thursday. Leisure conglomerate Aitken Spence saw almost 6.5m shares trade on the normal board contributing more than 50% of today’s turnover. Earlier Commercial Bank and Sampath Bank had reported exceptional 4th quarter results. ASI lost 38.57 points (0.68%) to close at 5,635.90 and the S&P SL20 index lost 16.43 points (0.51%) to close at 3,194.39. Turnover was Rs. 1,430.6Mn

Indices closed higher on Friday helped mainly by gains on Ceylon Tobacco Company which rebounded from Thursday’s drastic price drop. Hatton National Bank drove turnover levels higher with institutional activity. S&P confirmed Sri Lanka’s B+ rating but warned of “bloated state sector and lack of transparency and independence”.   ASI gained 16.79 points (0.30%) to close at 5,652.69 and the S&P SL20 index gained 12.46 points (0.39%) to close at 3,206.85. turnover was Rs. 673.9Mn. Top contributors to turnover were Hatton National Bank with Rs. 361.5Mn, Sampath Bank with Rs. 55.0Mn and Chevron Lubricants with Rs. 39.6Mn. Most active counters for the day were Central Investments & Finance, Touchwood Investments and Hatton National Bank.

Notable gainers for the day were SMB Leasing non-voting up by 33.3% to close at Rs. 0.40, Swarnamahal Financial Services up by 12.5% to close at Rs. 3.60 and Maskeliya Plantations up by 9.8% to close at Rs. 13.40. Notable losers for the day were DIMO down by 6.5% to close at Rs. 510.00, Hayleys MGT down by 5.0% to close at Rs. 9.50 and PC House down by 2.4% to close at Rs. 4.00.

Cash map for today was 45.69%. Foreign participation was 36.42% of total market turnover whilst net foreign buying was Rs. 324.35Mn.