The Colombo Stock Exchange closed higher on Thursday, with the benchmark All Share Price Index adding 69.47 points, or 0.33 percent, to finish at 21,395.11.
Turnover reached Rs. 2.45 billion, on about 118.17 million shares. Foreign investors turned net buyers, recording a net inflow of Rs. 68.36 million. Market breadth strengthened, with 126 counters advancing against 84 declining — an advance-to-decline ratio of 1.50 — indicating the session’s rise was carried by broad participation rather than a handful of heavyweights.
Negotiated crossings accounted for roughly Rs. 925.33 million, about 38 percent of equity turnover. COCO.N recorded the largest, 19.84 million shares changing hands at Rs. 25.30 for some Rs. 501.93 million, with further crossings in DIPD.N, JKH.N, DIAL.N, TKYO.N and RCL.N.
On individual counters the two accounts agree. CINS.N was the single strongest positive contributor to the ASPI, adding 41.92 index points, with Haycarb (up 6.16 percent at Rs. 215.50), Dipped Products (up 6.02 percent at Rs. 61.60), Royal Ceramics (up 4.13 percent at Rs. 47.90) and Access Engineering (up 2.50 percent at Rs. 77.90) also supporting the advance. John Keells Holdings was the largest drag, taking 22.14 points off the index, alongside Hatton National Bank, DFCC Bank, Pan Asia Banking Corporation and SANASA Development Bank.
Where the two reports diverge
The accounts disagree on the S&P Sri Lanka 20, the index tracking the market’s largest and most liquid counters. The Daily Mirror put it up 11.75 points, or 0.20 percent, at 5,995.25. EconomyNext put it up 23.73 points, or 0.40 percent, at 6,007.23 — above the closely watched 6,000 mark that the Daily Mirror’s figure leaves it below.
Each version is internally consistent: both point changes convert correctly to the percentages given, and subtracting each reported gain from each reported close yields exactly the same previous close of 5,983.50. The two newsrooms therefore agree on where the index began the session and differ only on how far it moved. Neither flagged the discrepancy.
The same two outlets published opposing S&P SL20 figures on 11 August, a conflict the next session’s numbers resolved in the Daily Mirror’s favour.
They also differ on which sector led turnover: EconomyNext reported materials at Rs. 600.73 million, while the Daily Mirror’s account put food, beverage and tobacco at about Rs. 646.04 million.
Separately, EconomyNext reported that Maharaja Foods issued an addendum to its proposed final scrip dividend announcement, clarifying that an ordinary resolution will go before shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting on 25 September, following its annual general meeting.
The Daily Mirror’s market report is credited to Almas Equities Research rather than to the newspaper’s own staff.
