Local stock investors wary in the wake of debt restructuring worries

By Hiran H.Senewiratne

President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s statement on the domestic debt restructuring mechanism in parliament yesterday created some worries for investors, market analysts observed.

Foreign investor participation remained bullish on listed equities with some net buying but locals appeared to be wary judging by the negative run at the Colombo bourse due to domestic debt restructuring speculation, market analysts added.

The All- Share Price Index went down by 33.6 points and the S and P SL20 declined by 9.5 points. Turnover stood at Rs 740 million without any crossings.

In the retail market top seven companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were; Aitken Spence Hotels Rs 87.5 million (1.4 million shares traded), Aitken Spence Rs 80.7 million (597,000 shares traded), Softlogic Capital Rs 44.3 million (4.4 million shares traded), Expolanka Holdings Rs 37.8 million (236,000 shares traded), Softlogic Life Insurance Rs 37.6 million (526,000 shares traded), Lanka IOC Rs 31.9 million (189,000 shares traded) and Windforce Rs 29.6 million (1.6 million shares traded). During the day 34.1 million share volumes changed hands in 11000 transactions.

It is said that high net worth and institutional investor participation was visible among Windforce Ltd., Teejay Lanka and Melstacorp. Mixed interest was noted in Dialog Axiata, Expolanka Holdings and Capital Alliance, while retail interest was noted in Browns Investments, Industrial Asphalts and Blue Diamonds Jewellery Worldwide.

The Capital Goods sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to Aitken Spence), while the sector index lost 0.56 per cent. The share price of Aitken Spence increased by Rs. 3 to Rs. 135.

The Food, Beverage & Tobacco sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover, while the sector index decreased by 0.73 per cent.

Yesterday the Central Bank’s US dollar buying rate was Rs 313.45 and the selling rate Rs 328.67. Food inflation had become stable, which at one time was one of the highest in the world.