The Colombo Stock Exchange closed marginally lower on Tuesday after spending most of the session in positive territory, with an intraday rally on US President Donald Trump’s peace-talk overture to Iran fading by the bell, EconomyNext reported.
The All Share Price Index ended 0.07 percent down at 22,298, off 15.40 points, while the S&P SL20 fell 0.21 percent, or 13.21 points, to 6,148. The session reversed the morning bid that had carried the ASPI to an intraday 22,513 before sellers stepped in. Analysts cited Trump’s comments raising the prospect of restarting talks to end the Middle East conflict as the early-day driver, with profit-taking later in the day capping gains.
Top positive contributors to the ASPI were Dialog Axiata (up 1.36 percent at Rs. 37.40), Vallibel One (up 2.52 percent at Rs. 97.60), Colombo Dockyard (up 1.54 percent at Rs. 132.25) and Browns Investments (up 1.67 percent at Rs. 6.10). On the other side, Sampath Bank (down 0.68 percent at Rs. 145.75), Melstacorp (down 0.66 percent at Rs. 188.25), Commercial Bank of Ceylon (down 0.36 percent at Rs. 205.50) and Hatton National Bank (down 0.37 percent at Rs. 406.00) weighed on the benchmark.
Market turnover came in at Rs. 2.32 billion, with capital goods again leading activity at Rs. 678.6 million. Singer Sri Lanka reported a 77 percent surge in March 2026 quarterly profit to Rs. 2.48 billion, with its shares closing at Rs. 77.20 — down 2.89 percent on the day — while Union Chemicals Lanka declared a Rs. 44-per-share dividend on its 1.5 million shares, the stock ending at Rs. 2,506.25.
The session played out against a continued slide in the rupee, with the selling rate touching Rs. 340.67 at People’s Bank and Deputy Finance Minister Anil Jayantha telling Parliament the depreciation reflected external shocks rather than domestic policy.
Source: EconomyNext.
