Sluggish mode at CSE amid corporate tax anxieties though turnover remains high

By Hiran H.Senewiratne

CSE activities were somewhat sluggish yesterday though at the outset they were positive. By the middle of the day activities slowed down and at the end of the day they turned negative, despite a healthy turnover level. Most of the investors and businessmen hoped that the budget will not harm the profitability of their companies by hammering heavy taxes, stock market analysts said.

The stock market remained buoyant on the previous day ahead of the Budget 2022 presentation but yesterday both indices were down despite healthy turnover levels, market analysts said. Both indices moved downwards. The All- Share Price Index went down by 19.83 points and S and P SL20 declined by 4.12 points. Turnover stood at Rs 5.1 billion without a single crossing.

In the retail market, seven companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were; LOLC Rs 1.3 billion (51.5 million shares traded), Expolanka Holdings Rs 783 million (3.9 million shares traded), Browns Investments Rs 307 million (26.6 million shares traded), LOLC Holdings Rs 223 million (321,000 shares traded), Royal Ceramic Rs 161 million (three million shares traded) and Sampath Bank Rs 111 million (1.9 million shares traded). During the day, 212 million share volumes changed hands in 40000 transitions.

It is said high net worth and institutional investor participation was noted in Sampath Bank, Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings and Renuka Holdings. Mixed interest was observed in Expolanka Holdings, LOLC Holdings and Agalawatte Plantations, while retail interest was noted in Lanka Orix Finance, Browns Investments and Shaw Wallace Investments.

Separately, Sunshine Holdings and Piramal Glass announced their interim dividends of 50 cents and 25 cents per share respectively.

Yesterday the US dollar was quoted at Rs 202.34, which was the controlled price of the Central Bank.