The Colombo Stock Exchange eased on Monday, with the benchmark All Share Price Index slipping back below its Friday milestone after closing above 23,000 for the first time last week, EconomyNext reported.
The ASPI fell 0.23 percent, or 52.26 points, to 23,011.72. The S&P SL20 of more liquid stocks fell 0.30 percent, or 19.22 points, to 6,300.02. Turnover came in at Rs. 4.92 billion, of which banks contributed Rs. 3.04 billion.
Top positive contributors to the ASPI were Melstacorp (up 0.66 percent at Rs. 190.00), Hemas Holdings (up 1.21 percent at Rs. 33.40), Citizens Development Business Finance (up 3.49 percent at Rs. 44.50) and Richard Pieris and Company (up 1.45 percent at Rs. 35.10).
Ceylinco Insurance (down 2.59 percent at Rs. 3,200.00), Commercial Bank of Ceylon (down 0.83 percent at Rs. 208.75), DFCC Bank (down 1.42 percent at Rs. 139.00) and Colombo Dockyard (down 1.75 percent at Rs. 140.75) were the top negative contributors.
Crossings were recorded in Ceylon Land & Equity (14 million shares), Sampath Bank (250,000 shares), John Keells Holdings (1 million shares), Seylan Bank (200,000 shares) and Digital Mobility Solutions Lanka (330,000 shares).
In disclosures, Laugfs Power announced the commissioning and grid connection of its 2MW Mini Hydro Power Plant in Polpitiya, Ginigathhena on March 26; its shares rose 1.72 percent to Rs. 11.80. ACME Printing and Packaging issued a circular proposing to reduce its stated capital to offset accumulated losses, to be put to shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting on June 11; the stock closed down 10 cents at Rs. 6.20.
Monday’s close pulled the index back from its first-ever close above 23,000 on May 8, though the benchmark remained at the milestone level. The session’s largest disclosed transaction — NDB’s Rs. 2.77 billion disposal of its Seylan Bank stake — was reported separately to the exchange, and Seylan Bank closed up 0.24 percent at Rs. 106.25.
Sources: EconomyNext — Sri Lanka stocks close down, banks lead turnover.
