Buying interest in blue-chip and banking counters invigorates CSE

By Hiran H. Senewiratne

The CSE started on a negative note yesterday but strong momentum was witnessed in mid- session due to buying interest in selected blue-chip counters, such as Hayleys, and in some banking sector counters, market analysts said.

Further, positive news in relation to the Adani Group to the effect that they would invest in the renewable energy sector created some positive sentiment for the stock market, analysts added.

Both indices moved upwards. The All- Share Price Index went up by 95.7 points and S and P SL20 rose by 38.4 points. Turnover stood at Rs 1.5 billion with two crossings. Those crossings were reported in Sampath Bank, which crossed 1.5 million shares to the tune of Rs 73.5 million; its shares traded at Rs 49 and Hayleys 400,000 shares crossed for Rs 30.8 million, its shares traded at Rs 77.

In the retail market, top seven companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were; Hayleys Rs 155 million (two million shares traded), Lanka IOC Rs 92.9 million (461,000 shares traded), SLT Rs 75 million (867,000 shares traded), JKH Rs 73 million (528,000 shares traded), Sampath Bank Rs 69.5 million (1.4 million shares traded), Browns Investments Rs 66.2 million (10.6 million shares traded) and Sunshine Holdings Rs 61 million (1.5 million shares traded). During the day 52.4 million share volumes changed hands in 16000 transactions.

It is said high net worth and institutional investor participation was noted in JKH. Mixed interest was observed in Lanka IOC, Hemas Holdings and Expolanka Holdings, while retail interest was noted in Union Bank, People’s Leasing & Finance and Browns Investments.

The Capital Goods sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to JKH and Hemas Holdings), while the sector index edged down by 0.01 per cent. The share price of JKH closed flat at Rs. 137.50. The share price of Hemas Holdings moved down by 70 cents to Rs. 63.30.

The Energy sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to Lanka IOC), while the sector index increased by 1.74 per cent. The share price of Lanka IOC gained Rs. 3 to Rs. 203.25.

Sector wise, the banking sector has been performing due to optimistic views on domestic debt restructuring and IMF finalizations.Yesterday, the Central Bank’s US dollar buying rate was Rs 359.00 and the selling rate Rs 368.52.