The Colombo Stock Exchange closed lower on Wednesday with the All Share Price Index down 0.40 percent, or 85.54 points, to 21,461.63, EconomyNext reported.
The more liquid S&P SL20 was down 0.15 percent, or 9.12 points, at 5,991.56. Market turnover was Rs. 1.67 billion, with capital goods leading turnover at Rs. 469.3 million.
The downward pressure came mainly from CT Holdings, which fell 7.81 percent to Rs. 525.50, Melstacorp down 0.98 percent to Rs. 177.25, and Janashakthi Insurance down 7.79 percent to Rs. 36.70.
Positive contributors to the ASPI included Bukit Darah, which jumped 6.02 percent to Rs. 845.50, John Keells Holdings up 0.51 percent to Rs. 19.80, Aitken Spence up 1.48 percent to Rs. 137.00, and Associated Motor Finance Company up 3.33 percent to Rs. 46.50.
Asian regional markets traded mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.64 percent to 24,407.96, and South Korea’s KOSPI fell 4.52 percent to 7,730.82, while India’s NIFTY 50 edged up 0.08 percent to 23,260.35.
The Wednesday slide pairs a softer equity tape with the Treasury bill yields jumping 25 to 26 basis points at the same morning’s auction, even as the rupee strengthened to Rs. 330.15 against the dollar on the back of CBSL’s new export-proceeds rule. Investors continued to weigh the US strikes on Iran following the Apache downing near Hormuz against the renewed Qatari-brokered talks.
