ASPI suffers heavy losses amid heightened uncertainty

By Almas Equities Research

The Colombo Stock Exchange endured a sharp sell-off, as heightened uncertainty stemming from the recent unrest in the country severely dented investor confidence. The market opened on a deeply bearish note, with widespread panic selling dominating early trading. Within the first 30 minutes, the ASPI plunged by over 830 points before recovering nearly 511 points of the initial losses through late-morning bargain hunting. However, renewed selling pressure in the latter part of the session pushed the index back into steep losses, resulting in a near 690-point decline by the close.

The Capital Goods sector emerged as the highest contributor to market turnover, generating LKR 1.52 Bn. AEL.N led sector activity, recording LKR 500 Mn in turnover with 6.7 Mn shares traded, reflecting strong two-way activity in the counter amid heightened volatility.

At the close, the ASPI dropped 690.76 points (-3.04%) to settle at 22,022.06, while the S&P SL20 declined by 181.16 points (-2.89%) to close at 6,085.87. Total market turnover stood at LKR 5.23 Bn with share volume reaching 236.40 Mn.

Crossings contributed LKR 0.39 Bn, accounting for 7% of total turnover. The largest crossing by value was recorded in HNB.N with LKR 118 Mn, while HHL.N recorded the highest crossing by share volume with 2.5 Mn shares traded.

Market breadth remained extremely weak, with only 23 gainers against 255 decliners, highlighting broad-based selling pressure across the market.

On the performance front, AEL.N emerged as the top positive contributor to the ASPI, adding 9.15 points, followed by TKYO.N, TKYO.X, ACL.N, and CIND.N. On the downside, COMB.N weighed most heavily on the index, dragging it by 41.84 points, while SAMP.N, NDB.N, HNB.N, and DFCC.N also exerted significant downward pressure.

Among notable trades, AEL.N recorded strong investor interest, generating LKR 421 Mn in turnover with 5.2 Mn shares traded, and closed the session with a 3.3% price gain despite the broader market weakness.