ECONOMYNEXT – The Colombo Stock Exchange closed down on Wednesday, data on its site showed.
The broader All Share Index closed down 0.55 percent, or 67.69 points, at 12,291; while the S&P SL20 Index closed down 0.94 percent, or 34.57 points, at 3,636.
Turnover was 3.2 billion.
“Market was a bit volatile today, and there was some profit-taking seen,” market participants said.
“There was selling pressure on the banks despite many of them posting good results.”
Hatton National Bank Plc closed down at 195.25, National Development Bank Plc closed down at 78.70, Sampath Bank Plc closed down at 78.10, Dfcc Bank Plc closed down at 79.90.
Profits at Hatton National Bank, which also has an insurance unit grew 2 percent to 7.2 billion rupees in March 2024, helped by lower provisioning and its insurance unit, interim accounts show.
Ambeon Capital Plc saw a high volume (Rs963mn) being traded, and the share closed down at 14.30.
Top contributors to the index in the day were conglomerate Aitken Spence Plc (up at 134.00), the rather illiquid Harischandra Mills Plc (up at 4,400.00), and bucking the trend in banking shares Nations Trust Bank Plc (up at 122.75).
There was a net foreign inflow of 772 million. (Colombo/May15/2024)