The Colombo Stock Exchange recovered on Thursday as President Anura Kumara Dissanayake delivered the 2027 Budget, with the benchmark index closing firmly above 22,000 and government bond yields falling steeply.
The All Share Price Index gained 124.47 points, or 0.56 percent, to close at 22,157.40, while the more liquid S&P SL20 rose 16.57 points, or 0.26 percent, to 6,365.57. Both the Daily Mirror and EconomyNext reported identical index figures.
Inside the session
The ASPI slipped towards 22,030 during the morning before recovering steadily and approaching 22,200, with mild late profit-taking trimming the gains.
Turnover was Rs 2.98 billion, below the year-to-date daily average of Rs 3.44 billion. The Capital Goods sector led activity and Dialog Axiata recorded the highest single-counter turnover at about Rs 458.87 million. Crossings made up roughly 11 percent of equity turnover.
Market breadth improved to 133 gainers against 82 decliners. Foreign investors, however, returned to net selling with an outflow of about Rs 111.49 million.
Sri Lanka Telecom was the strongest positive contributor to the index, up Rs 6.90 at Rs 92, followed by Distilleries, Dialog Axiata, Tokyo Cement and LOLC Finance. Ceylon Cold Stores was the largest drag, down Rs 1.25 at Rs 125.
Currency and bonds
The rupee closed weaker at 332.50/60 to the US dollar in the spot market, from 332.37/42 the previous day, EconomyNext reported.
Bond yields fell across the curve. The 15.09.2029 maturity closed at 10.65/70 percent from 10.75/85, the 01.02.2031 at 10.97/11.05 from 11.10/15, and the 15.08.2036 at 12.00/06 from 12.10/15 percent.
A note on the sourcing
The Daily Mirror market report is bylined to Almas Equities Research, a research house rather than the newspaper’s own desk. Its commentary identifies the 22,200 region as the immediate technical level to watch, while flagging moderate turnover and renewed foreign selling as grounds for caution.
