CSE dips to negative terrain following Fitch Ratings report

By Hiran H.Senewiratne

CSE activities set off on a negative note yesterday following a Fitch Ratings report that Sri Lanka’s revenue target for the 2024 budget is ambitious. There is an element of risk in achieving it in the backdrop of delays in obtaining the IMF loan’s second tranche and difficulties encountered in the domestic debt restructuring process, market analysts said.

“Fitch Ratings in its statement stated that the targets laid out in Sri Lanka’s budget for 2024 will be challenging to meet, even with the economic recovery that we expect to continue next year, these analysts observed.

“Further, the fiscal deficit is set to be wider than our current forecast of 7.1 percent of GDP in 2024 in light of the new data, even after excluding bank recapitalization costs and the revenue/GDP ratio will be lower than we had assumed, Fitch reported.

Amid those developments both indices moved downwards. The All Share Price Index went down by 61.57 points and S and P SL20 declined by 14.98 points. Turnover stood at Rs 1.06 billion with 4 crossings. Those crossings were reported in Vidullanka, which crossed 19 million shares to the tune of Rs 129.2 million; its shares traded at Rs 6.80, Sanasa Development Bank 3.1 million shares crossed for Rs 110 million and its shares traded at Rs 35, Ceylon Grain Elevators 120,000 shares crossed for Rs 22.14 million; its shares traded at Rs 184.50 and Shaw Wallace Investments 2 million shares crossed to the tune of Rs 20.5 million; its shares traded at Rs 10.

In the retail market top seven companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were; Capital Alliance Rs 108.5 million (1.6 million shares traded), JKH Rs 60 million (316,000 shares traded), Grain Elevators Rs 49.3 million (285,000 shares traded), Colombo Fort Land Rs 43 million (1.54 million shares traded), Distilleries Rs 32.4 million (1.3 million shares traded) and Sampath Bank Rs 29.3 million (432,000 shares traded). During the day 58.4 million shares changed hands in 9369 transactions.Yesterday buying rate of the dollar was Rs 323.35 and selling rate Rs 333.66.