Sri Lanka’s Colombo Stock Exchange closed sharply higher on Friday, with the benchmark All Share Price Index rising 1.75 percent on positive sentiment after US President Donald Trump said he would not proceed with planned strikes on Iran, EconomyNext reported.
The ASPI gained 372.93 points to close at 21,642.95, while the more liquid S&P SL20 advanced 1.48 percent, or 87.71 points, to 6,022.99. Market turnover came in at 1.992 billion rupees, with banks leading the trade at 490.8 million rupees.
“Market sentiment was positive today, driven by US President Donald Trump saying he will not go ahead with the bombings on Iran,” Raynal Wickremeratne, Head of Research and Strategy at NDB Securities, told EconomyNext. “But in order for this to be sustainable, we need to see this continue for a few more days.”
The biggest positive contributors to the index were DFCC Bank (up 3.19 percent at Rs. 129.50), Hatton National Bank (up 2.06 percent at Rs. 396.00), Commercial Bank of Ceylon (up 1.63 percent at Rs. 202.25) and John Keells Holdings (up 1.52 percent at Rs. 20.00). Top drags were Seylan Developments (down 11.11 percent at Rs. 0.80), Bukit Darah (down 0.75 percent at Rs. 831.00) and Malwatte Valley Plantations (down 3.47 percent at Rs. 52.90).
Wickremeratne said turnover had been thin for some time and investors had been waiting for a window to collect, so the potential peace-talks signal acted as a trigger. Even with Friday’s gain, the ASPI was still down 101.05 points on the week.
Dialog Axiata announced that all resolutions at its 29th Annual General Meeting were duly passed, including the declaration of a final dividend and the re-appointment of Deloitte Partners as auditors. The stock closed up 0.92 percent at Rs. 43.90.
The rally followed Trump’s Truth Social post saying he had “cancelled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening” after talks with Iranian leadership were brought to “the highest level” and approved, with the US naval blockade staying in place until any transaction is finalised. The President said the signing of a memorandum of understanding could take place in Europe and that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen as soon as the deal is signed.
