Stocks closed marginally higher on Tuesday with gains in Nestle Lanka, John Keells Holdings and Bukit Dharah. ASI gained 7.27 index points (0.12%) while S&P SL 20 Index gained 5.57 points (+0.16%). Daily market turnover was LKR 532mn. John Keells Holdings with LKR 164mn, Chevron Lubricants with LKR 63mn and Nestle with LKR 63mn were the highest contributors to the market turnover. Meanwhile Textured Jersey, Central Investment & Finance and Nation Lanka Finance were the mostly traded stocks for the day with heavy retail investor participation. Foreign participation was 54% and foreign investors were net buyers with a net inflow of LKR 150mn.
Colombo stocks closed with positive returns on Wednesday as ASI advanced by 30.34 points (0.50%) to end at 6,151.79 mainly due to the price appreciations large cap stocks such as Nestle Lanka, Sri Lanka Telecom and Distilleries. S&P SL 20 Index increased marginally by 2.83 points (+0.08%). Daily market turnover was LKR 725mn. Chevron Lubricants with LKR 181mn, Distilleries with LKR 89mn and Lanka IOC with LKR 80mn recorded the highest turnover levels during the day with the support of several negotiated deals. Sanasa Development Bank, Access Engineering, Textured Jersey and Nestle Lanka were the heavily traded stocks for the day. Foreign participation for the day was 40% and foreign investors were net buyers with a net inflow of LKR 308mn.
Markets closed flat for the week amid a dreary trading on Thursday. Market indices showed mixed performance as ASI closed at 6,151.92 with a marginal gain of 0.13 index points (0.00%) and S&P SL 20 Index slipped by 9.71 index points (-0.28%) to end at 3,470.16. Daily market turnover was LKR 285mn and trading volumes were relatively lower compared to the previous days. Distilleries with LKR 42mn, Lanka Ceramics with LKR 36mn and Textured Jersey with LKR 22mn topped the turnover list during the day. A single crossing of 0.2mn shares was recorded in Distillers at a price of LKR 195.00 per share. Heavy investor participation was seen in Textured Jersey followed by Nation Lanka Finance and Sanasa Development Bank. Further Textured Jersey reached a new 52 week high price and closed at LKR 14.20, up by 4.4%. Meanwhile 37 stocks closed with 52 week low prices. Foreign investors were net buyers with a net foreign inflow of LKR 33mn and foreign participation accounted for 14% of the total turnover. Cash map ended at 56.3%