Stocks end positive on Friday’s strong gains
Indices were volatile after last week’s gains as investors locked in
profits during early part of the week. However market rebounded strongly
on the last two days recouping the losses, as investors were expecting
positive news from the warfront over the coming days.
The ASPI (All Share Price Index) closed the week at 1907.7 points up
by 11.7 points or 0.6 per cent compared to last week, while the MPI (Milanka
Price Index) improved by 6.9 points or 0.3 per cent to close at 2068.3
points.
Asia Capital (ACAP) was the highest contributor towards this week’s
turnover contributing Rs.178.4 million, as a result of Friday’s trades
amounting to 29.5 million shares at a price of Rs.6.00 per share.
Counter also became the highest traded stock during the week with a
total of 29.7 million shares. However ACAP slipped in terms of its share
price on Friday to close the week down by a notable 17.2 per cent to
Rs.6.00 whilst having fluctuated within a price band of Rs.6.00 &
Rs.7.25 per share over the week.
Investor interest on the index heavyweight JKH continued as counter
became the second highest contributor towards market activity this week
with a contribution of Rs.166.5 million, while trading a quantity of 2.2
million shares for the week. JKH during the week saw its share price
rise by 1.3 per cent to close at Rs.79.00 per share.
Relatively high interest was seen on banking stocks during the week
as NDB, Commercial, Sampath, Nations Trust and DFCC were among week’s
top contributed stocks. Notable quantities of NDB shares were seen
changing hands throughout the week with the stock contributing Rs.104.0
million towards market activity.
The counter traded within a price range of Rs.92.00 and Rs.96.25 per
share and closed the week 0.1 per cent down at Rs.92.25.
Meanwhile 1.1 million shares of Commercial Bank (COMB) traded at a
highest price of Rs.98 and a lowest of Rs.93 per share. Counter’s
contribution towards this week’s turnover stood at Rs.101.4 million with
bulk coming on Thursday, making it the fourth largest contributor
towards the weekly turnover. Commercial’s share price remained flat Week
on Week (WoW) at 95.00 per share.
Trading volumes remained moderate during the week except for Friday,
which saw a jump in activity levels led by, trades on Asia Capital.
The total turnover for the week amounted to Rs.1.08 billion, 12.3 per
cent lower than the last week’s activity while the average daily
turnover stood at Rs.215.5 million during the week.
Foreign investors were net buyers amounting to Rs.10.2 million this
week, while foreign participation improved significantly to 32.5 per
cent compared to last week’s 22.2 per cent. Foreign purchases stood at
Rs.355.4 million an 82.4 per cent increase compared to last week, while
foreign sales saw a slight 1.7 per cent decline to Rs.345.2 million.
The heavily traded stocks during the week were JKH, Lanka Cement,
Seylan Bank (Non Voting), Reefcomber and NDB.
Point of View
Crucial week ahead; stick to fundamentals
Indices were volatile during the week amidst the mixed signals from
the war and the economic fronts. Overall the market gained marginally by
0.6% compared to previous week’s closing level.
The weeks ahead would be crucial for the market as government is
hoping for a positive outcome in the warfront.
We believe the market sentiment could get a boost if government
manages to end the 3-decade civil war, thus we advise investors to
carefully pick up fundamentally sound stocks with a medium term view.
However we feel the concerns over the IMF facility would continue to
keep investors nervous as a result the indices could remain volatile in
the coming week.
The information contained herein has been compiled from sources that
Acuity Stockbrokers (Private) Limited (ASB) believes to be true and
reliable but we do not hold ourselves responsible for its completeness
or accuracy. No matter published herein create any liability of any kind
on ASB.
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constitute ASB’s judgment of this date and are subject to change without
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