The Colombo Stock Exchange closed higher on Wednesday with Janashakthi Limited (JXG) dominating turnover on its trading debut, while the rupee weakened against the US dollar.
The All Share Price Index (ASPI) rose 0.07 percent, or 14.85 points, to close at 22,635, and the S&P SL20 added 0.18 percent, or 11.33 points, to 6,241. Market turnover stood at 4.19 billion rupees, with diversified financials leading at 1.98 billion rupees on the back of the JXG listing.
JXG opened at 13.70 rupees, up 37 percent from its IPO price, and was the top positive contributor to the index. Ceylon Beverage Holdings (+5.95 percent), Asiri Hospital Holdings (+8.42 percent) and John Keells Holdings (+0.49 percent) also lifted the index. Carson Cumberbatch (-2.74 percent), Seylan Bank (-3.04 percent) and Janashakthi Insurance (-4.72 percent) were the main drags.
A total of 2.3 billion JXG shares are now listed on the CSE. Crossings were recorded in Prime Lands Residencies (1 million shares), National Development Bank (200,000), Vallibel Finance (300,000), Hemas Holdings (700,000), Access Engineering (300,000) and Sunshine Holdings (1.11 million). Nations Trust Bank converted 44 non-voting shares to voting and traded at 315.50 rupees.
In currency markets, the rupee closed at 319.75/320.60 to the US dollar from 319.00/320.00 the previous day. Bond yields were broadly steady, with the 2034 maturity edging up to 11.15/20 percent.
At Wednesday’s Treasury bill auction, the Public Debt Management Office sold 126.9 billion rupees of an offered 140 billion rupees. The 3-month yield fell 7 basis points to 8.20 percent, the 6-month rose 2 basis points to 8.25 percent, and the 12-month was unchanged at 8.52 percent.
