Gloomy week for bourse

The Colombo bourse continued to lose steam last week with the All Share Price Index losing 2.69% week-on-week, the Milanka down 3.68% and S&P SL20 dipping 2.03%, Acuity Stockbrokers said in its weekly Stock Market Report.

However, the main All Share Price Index gained a cumulative 46.51 points on Thursday and Friday, the brokerage noted.

Net foreign outflow for the first time since July this year was also noted with positive inflows later in the week failing to offset a significant outflow of Rs.1.66 billion on Monday, the report said.

Acuity expected the markets to remain subdued this week, the report said.

Approximately 87% of listed companies have reported current year earnings up to September with market earnings up 3.5% year-on-year to Rs.45.6 billion from Rs.44.05 billion a year earlier.

The market price earnings ratio meanwhile has come down 11.7X from 13.09X on November 23, 2011 amidst strong year-on-year growth on earnings reported up to now in several sectors including telecom, beverage, food & tobacco; chemical & pharmaceuticals; hotels & travels; investment trusts; land & property; oil palm; health services; stores & supplies and power & energy.

The report said that Browns investments was the highest contributor to the week’s turnover value contributing Rs.1.96 billion to account for 23.03% of total market turnover. ERI accounted for 26.55% and Distilleries for 9.50%.

Market turnover was up sharply to Rs.6.99 billion from the previous week’s Rs.1.44 billion with daily average turnover at Rs.1.4 billion against the previous week’s Rs.0.36 billion.

John Keells Stockbrokers reported that the market fell sharply on the back of heavy selling pressure centered on large caps with the weekly turnover levels largely driven by foreign participation through crossings on JKH, HNB and Distilleries resulting in a net outflow of Rs.1.1 billion.
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Market opened the week on a negative note on Monday. Most blue-chips lost ground whilst retail selling was evident in speculative counters. Market turnover was dominated by the cross deal between Taprobane Holdings and Environmental Resource Holdings which saw shares in Browns Investments and Environmental Resource Holdings change hands. The two deals accounted for almost 94% of today’s turnover.

ASI lost 52.39 points (0.94%) to close at 5,503.93, MPI lost 57.77 points (1.12%) to close at 5,086.55 and S&P SL20 index lost 22.21 points to close at 3,006.47. Turnover was Rs. 3,864.7Mn. Cash map for the day was 96.68%. Foreign participation was 22.5% of total market turnover whilst net foreign selling was Rs. 1.7Bn.

Indices dropped sharply on Tuesday on thin volumes. Selling activity was evident by retail investors as people start preparing for the upcoming holiday season. The sharp drop saw bargain hunting on selected counters. The main driver in the market during the past few months in terms of turnover John Keells Holdings saw little activity.

ASI dropped 69.98 points (1.27%) to close at 5,433.95, MPI lost 81.97 points (1.61%) to close at 5,004.58 and the S&P SL20 index lost 14.44 points (0.48%) to close at 2,992.03. Turnover was Rs. 272.5Mn. Cash map for the day was 28.50%. Foreign participation was 15% of total market turnover and net foreign buying was Rs. 75Mn.

Market continued its lackluster trend on Wednesday as indices saw a sharp dip led by retail selling. Many private deals took place on John Keells Holdings, Hatton National Bank, Chevron Lubricants, Asiri Hospital Holdings, Environmental Resource Holdings warrant-2 and Environmental Resource Holdings warrant-6. Most of the trading on the normal board was also led by blue-chips with Aitken Spence attracting bargain hunters.

ASI lost 73.35 points (-1.35%) to close at 5,360.60, MPI lost 79.55 points (-1.59%) to close at 4,925.03 and the S&P SL20 index dropped 40.77 points (-1.36%) to close at 2,951.26. Turnover was Rs. 1,564.9Mn. Cash map for today was 87.02%. Foreign participation was 74% of total market turnover whilst net foreign buying was Rs.425.5Mn

Market rebounded on thin volumes on Thursday as bargain hunting set in. Many blue-chips gained ground whilst turnover was concentrated amongst a handful of blue-chips. The market will see many bargain hunting opportunities in the near term as investors generally liquidate small quantities ahead of the festive season.

ASI gained 46.05 points (0.86%) to close at 5,406.65, MPI gained 29.97 points (0.61%) to close at 4,955.00 and the S&P SL20 index gained 16.27 points (0.55%) to close at 2,967.53. Turnover was Rs. 487.8Mn. Cash map for this day was 79.57%. Foreign participation was 57% of total market turnover whilst net foreign buying was Rs. 25Mn.

On Friday indices hovered around yesterday’s closing levels and managed to close marginally higher. Private deals on Distilleries helped boost turnover today whilst activity was lull on the normal board. Retail selling persisted today as the general downward trend seen during the latter part of previous years is currently been witnessed this year as well. Most investors keep cash positions in preparation for the festive season. However, this period offers definite bargain prices for the opportunistic investor.

ASI gained 0.46 points (0.01%) to close at 5,407.11, MPI gained 0.21 points (0.00%) to close at 4,955.21 and the S&P SL20 index lost 0.22 points (0.01%) to close at 2,967.31. Turnover was Rs. 803.2Mn. Cash map for today was 92.92%. Foreign participation was 85% of total market turnover whilst net foreign buying was Rs. 36Mn.

Stock Market Review for the week ending 23rd November 2012:

The market opened the week on a negative note with both the ASPI and the Milanka losing 52 and 58 points respectively to close at 5,503 and 5,086. However market turnover saw a dramatic boost crossing Rs 3.8 billion, which was mainly due to significant institutional activity in Browns Investments (BIL) and Environmental Resource Investments (GREG). Alongside the large deals in BIL and GREG, the shares of HNB, JKH and Softlogic (SHL) too attracted interest among investors and in turn emerged as top contributors for the day. The price of BIL and GREG dropped by Rs 0.20 and 0.50 respectively to close at Rs 4.00 and Rs 16.10. HNB and JKH lost 2.80 and Rs 0.80 to close at Rs 142.00 and Rs 216.00 while SHL closed flat at Rs 11.00. A net foreign outflow was recorded, amounting to Rs 1.6 billion.

On Tuesday the ASPI for the first time since early September, dipped below 5,500 to close at 5,433, down 70 points, while Milanka dropped 82 points to close at 5,004. A significantly lower turnover of only Rs 272 million was recorded for the day. The top contributing counters were Colombo Dockyard with Rs 22.3 mn, KHL with Rs 17.8 mn, JKH with Rs 16.4 mn and Chevron Rs 13.7 mn. Dockyard closed at Rs 219.00, losing Rs 1.00 while JKH lost Rs 3.00 to close at Rs 213.00. Both KHL and Chevron gained cents -/10 to close at 13.70 and Rs 195.00 respectively. A net foreign inflow of Rs 76 mn was recorded.

Wednesday saw the market plunge a further 73 points closing at 5,360, while the Milanka lost 79 points to close at 4,925. The promising outlook was that there was increased activity witnessed in the market resulting in a turnover of Rs 1.5 bn. Higher turnover was attributed to institutional activity, among selective blue chip counters including JKH recording a volume of 1.5 million shares changing hands at Rs 215.00. Interest in other blue-chips such as Chevron, HNB and Aitken Spence was also witnessed. GREG Warrants 006 and 003 also contributed to turnover levels generating Rs 315.4 mn and 294.6 mn respectively. The share price of JKH closed Rs 2.00 lower at Rs 212.00, while GREG Warrant 006 gained cents -/10 to close at Rs 4.60 and GREG Warrant 03 lost cents -/10 to close at Rs 4.10. HNB and Aitken Spence lost Rs 1.00 and Rs 7.00 respectively to close at Rs 144.00 and Rs 118.00. A net foreign inflow of Rs 425 mn was seen during the day.

The market rebounded on Thursday with the ASPI and Milanka indices gaining 46 and 30 points to close at 5,406 and 4,955 respectively. GREG topped the turnover list on the back of institutional interest generating Rs 149 mn followed by Atiken Spence with Rs 113.5 mn, Sampath with Rs 48.7 mn and Seylan Bank (non-voting) with 30.2 mn. The share of GREG gained -/10 to close at Rs 15.20 while Aitken Spence increased by Rs 4.50 to close at Rs 122.50. Sampath and Seylan Bank (non-voting) gained by cents -/70 and Rs 1.60 to close at Rs 187.00 and Rs 35.00 respectively. A net foreign inflow of Rs 25 million was recorded.

The positive momentum from the previous was evident on Friday too resulting in the two indices closing in the positive albeit marginally. The ASPI and Milanka gained 0.46 and 0.21 points to close at 5,407 and 4,955 respectively. A modest turnover of Rs 803 million was recorded on the back of institutional activity in Distilleries amounting to Rs 640 mn. The other top counters for the day in terms of turnover was HNB (non-voting) with 22 mn and JKH with 16 mn. The share price of Distilleries gained Rs 1.80 to close at Rs 147.50. HNB (non-voting) gained Rs 2.50 to close at Rs 112.50 while JKH lost cents -/50 to close at Rs 212.90. A net foreign inflow of Rs 35 million was witnessed.

Courtesy: Innovest Investments (Pvt) Ltd, an Investment Management Company licensed by the Securities & Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka
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