Colombo bourse altered its positive trend of two days on Monday with negative gains, as the benchmark index dropped by 27.41 index points (-0.43%) to close at 6,354.83. Meanwhile the S&P SL20 index tumbled by 16.70 index points (-0.50%) to close at 3,298.66.

Turnover was only LKR 374mn, the lowest recorded this year. The low turnover was a result of both, the lack of investor participation in the retail market and the absence of institutional investors. High selling pressure in John Keells Holdings pushed the counter to the top of the turnover list (LKR 143mn) as it lost LKR -0.90 to close at LKR 157.20. Following John Keells at a distance in the turnover list were Sampath Bank (LKR 26mn) & Ceylon Cold Stores (LKR 19mn).

39 Counters witnessed price appreciations today while more than double the number dropped in price. Out of the 90 counters that experienced price reductions, the most negatively influential to the index following John Keells were Sri Lanka Telecom (closed at LKR 39.40, -1.5%), Union Assurance (closed at LKR 148.00, -10.1%), Hemas Holdings (closed at LKR 80.40, -2.0%) & Commercial Bank (closed at LKR 129.00, -0.8%). Cash map declined from 48% to 40%.

21 scripts reached 52wk low prices while Peoples Insurance recorded the highest price (LKR 16.20) post listing in the Colombo Stock Exchange. Included in the 21 counters that touched 52wk low prices were members of the S&P SL20, namely DFCC (closed at LKR 148.00) & Aitken Spence (LKR 85.10).

Investors showed high interest in the poultry segment today as all 3 poultry scripts were amongst the highest traded, while posting price gains. Further, high investor activity was witnessed in Peoples Insurance along with its parent, the Peoples Leasing Company. The John Keells main share & its warrant also received attention in today’s market.

Foreign investors closed the session on the selling side with a net foreign outflow of LKR 10mn. Foreign participation was 25%. Net foreign outflows were seen in John Keells Holdings (LKR 18mn), Sampath Bank (LKR 12mn) & Dialog (LKR 10mn), while net foreign inflows were mainly seen in Ceylon Cold Stores (LKR 19mn).