Overseas investors were net buyers across much of the rest of the market, but a single large exit from John Keells Holdings pushed the day’s foreign flows into the red.
Foreign investors sold a net LKR 111.2 million worth of John Keells Holdings (JKH) shares on the Colombo Stock Exchange on October 1, a figure larger than the market’s entire net foreign outflow of LKR 94.2 million for the day.
The arithmetic points to a market where foreign activity was broadly positive outside one counter. Excluding JKH, foreign investors were net buyers of roughly LKR 17 million.
Total foreign purchases for the session were LKR 45.4 million against sales of LKR 139.6 million. Because JKH’s net selling alone was LKR 111.2 million, the stock accounted for at least four-fifths of all foreign selling in the market.
JKH’s own turnover for the day was LKR 135 million, about 9% of total market turnover of LKR 1.43 billion. Foreign net selling therefore represented the large majority of the trading value recorded in the stock.
Other counters saw smaller foreign flows. Sampath Bank attracted the largest net foreign buying at LKR 14.0 million, followed by Tap (LKR 9.0 million), CCS (LKR 6.0 million), HNB (LKR 2.8 million) and SEMB (LKR 2.8 million). Net foreign selling was also recorded in Dialog Axiata (LKR 8.0 million), HBS (LKR 3.7 million), ABL (LKR 2.6 million) and JXG (LKR 2.0 million).
The session came as the broader market ended a five-day losing run, with the ASPI rising 0.33% to 20,880.90.
Even so, the day’s flows sit within a much larger trend. Net foreign outflows for the year to date stand at LKR 57.4 billion, so one day’s net selling of LKR 94.2 million is small against that total. The JKH figure is a single-session data point, and the exchange data used here does not identify the nature of the transactions behind it.
Key Numbers
| Indicator | Figure |
|---|---|
| JKH net foreign selling | LKR 111.2 Mn |
| Total market net foreign outflow | LKR 94.2 Mn |
| Total foreign purchases | LKR 45.4 Mn |
| Total foreign sales | LKR 139.6 Mn |
| Net foreign flow excluding JKH (approx.) | +LKR 17 Mn |
| JKH turnover | LKR 135 Mn (about 9% of market) |
| Net foreign flow, year to date | -LKR 57.4 Bn |
Business Impact
For investors, the figures show that headline foreign flow numbers can be shaped by one stock rather than reflecting a broad shift in overseas sentiment. Corporate executives and finance teams tracking foreign participation in Sri Lankan equities may find it more useful to look at flows with and without large single-stock movements. The persistent year-to-date outflow remains the bigger-picture measure of overseas appetite for the market.
This article reports market data and does not constitute investment advice.
Source Attribution: Colombo Stock Exchange market data and publicly available market information.