Turnover falls well below the monthly average as the ASPI posts a marginal gain and foreign investors extend a year-to-date pattern of net selling
The Colombo Stock Exchange closed narrowly higher on Wednesday, though trading activity slowed considerably compared to recent sessions, with turnover falling well short of the monthly average.
The All Share Price Index (ASPI) added 7.33 points to close at 21,325.64, a gain of 0.03%. The S&P SL20, which tracks the market’s most liquid large-cap counters, moved in the opposite direction, slipping 2.95 points, or 0.05%, to settle at 5,983.50. The divergence between the two indices suggests the day’s modest gains were concentrated outside the largest blue-chip names.
Market breadth pointed to underlying softness despite the ASPI’s uptick. Decliners outnumbered advancers over the course of the session, indicating that the index gain was driven by a narrower set of counters rather than broad-based buying.
Total turnover for the day came in at approximately LKR 1.3 billion, more than 64% below the monthly average of LKR 3.6 billion. It was among the quieter sessions the market has seen recently, with participation led by retail investors while high-net-worth activity remained limited.
Sector activity was concentrated in banking counters, which accounted for roughly one-fifth of total turnover. The materials sector, along with food, beverage and tobacco counters, together contributed a further third of trading activity.
Foreign investors remained net sellers, though the scale of selling was minor in the context of the day’s activity, with a net outflow of roughly LKR 7 million. That figure sits within a broader pattern: foreign investors have been net sellers on a month-to-date and year-to-date basis, with cumulative outflows running well into the tens of billions of rupees so far this year — a trend that has persisted despite periodic single-day inflows.
On the fixed income side, the secondary bond market showed a mixed tone, with yields on select longer-dated maturities edging higher while short-term Treasury bill yields declined at the week’s auction, pointing to differing pressures across the yield curve. A weekly Treasury bill auction raised LKR 80 billion, in line with the amount offered, with yields easing across all three tenors.
The rupee weakened marginally against the US dollar, while banking system liquidity contracted slightly from the prior session.
Key Numbers
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| ASPI | 21,325.64 (+7.33 pts / +0.03%) |
| S&P SL20 | 5,983.50 (-2.95 pts / -0.05%) |
| Market Turnover | ~LKR 1.3Bn (-64.3% vs. monthly avg. of LKR 3.6Bn) |
| Market Volume | 50.86Mn shares |
| Net Foreign Flow | -LKR 7.2Mn (Day) / -LKR 619.8Mn (MTD) / -LKR 56,360.2Mn (YTD) |
| USD/LKR | 328.05 (from 327.90) |
| Banking System Liquidity | LKR 337.05Bn (from LKR 348.76Bn) |
| 3M / 6M / 12M T-Bill Yields | 8.96% / 9.27% / 9.81% (all down on the week) |
Business Impact
For business owners and investors, the day’s low turnover signals continued caution among market participants, likely influenced by broader geopolitical and global oil price concerns rather than company-specific developments. The persistence of foreign net selling on a year-to-date basis remains a factor worth monitoring for businesses reliant on portfolio capital inflows, though single-day figures should be read with caution given their limited scale. Meanwhile, the decline in short-term Treasury bill yields at this week’s auction may offer modestly lower short-term borrowing costs for entities benchmarking against government securities, even as certain longer-dated bond yields moved higher.
Source Attribution
Source: Colombo Stock Exchange market data, Central Bank of Sri Lanka statistics and publicly available market information.