The Colombo Stock Exchange closed lower on Tuesday as renewed Middle East escalation triggered retail selling, brokers said, with bank counters leading the slide.
The All Share Price Index fell 0.49% or 110.70 points to 22,584, while the more liquid S&P SL20 declined 0.31% or 19.36 points to 6,225. Market turnover was Rs. 2.15 billion, lifted by crossings in Digital Mobility Solutions and Commercial Bank.
“Escalation in the Middle East caused panicked retail selling,” Dimantha Mathew, Chief Research and Strategy Officer at First Capital Holdings, said. “The current dip is also coming with the selling pressure from bank counters.”
US Navy helicopters sank six Iranian fast boats near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday following Iranian missile attacks on UAE oil infrastructure and merchant vessels, while Iran’s chief negotiator warned on Tuesday that Tehran has “not even started” in the standoff.
CT Holdings (down 2.73% to Rs. 580), Hayleys (-1.07% to Rs. 230.50), Sampath Bank (-0.50% to Rs. 148.75) and Hemas Holdings (-1.52% to Rs. 32.50) were the heaviest drags on the index. Digital Mobility Solutions (+1.31% to Rs. 155), Ceylon Grain Elevators (+1.97% to Rs. 467), Melstacorp (+0.27% to Rs. 185.50) and Ceylon Cold Stores (+0.83% to Rs. 121) provided what positive support there was.
Among the day’s results, Colombo Dockyard reported a Rs. 428.1 million loss for the quarter ended March 31, narrowing from a Rs. 634.4 million loss a year earlier. The share closed at Rs. 1,803.50, up 0.19%.
The selling capped a session that began on the back of Monday’s bank-led recovery and reflected the speed at which fresh Hormuz developments now feed through to local equity sentiment.
Source: EconomyNext.
