Sri Lankan equities experienced a turnaround this week after 2 consecutive weeks of losses as positive earnings from select stocks particularly in the Material sector boosted investor sentiment. The possibility of easing curfews from the 9th Nov also added to investor confidence this week which led the benchmark index to cross the key psychological mark of 6,000 points on Thursday.
Consequently, the Bourse ended the week on a positive note as the ASPI increased by 353.50 points (or +6.17%) to close at 6,080.09 points, while the S&P SL20 Index also increased by 88.10 points (or +3.86%) to close at 2,370.30 points. Gains on the benchmark index this week helped trim ASPI YTD loss to -0.5%
Turnover & Market Capitalization
The total turnover value rose to LKR16.8Bn (cf. last week’s value of LKR 5.0Bn), while daily average turnover value amounted to LKR 3.4Bn (compared to last week’s average of LKR 1.3Bn). Turnover levels continued to increase during the week, rising from LKR 1.3Bn on Monday to reach nearly LKR 5.0Bn by Friday, supported by heavy buying interest in mid-cap stocks such as EXPO which continued to dominate weekly turnover levels and contribution of ~8.4% to total gains this week. Buying interest was also visible in DIPD (which recorded 503% Y-o-Y growth in Net Profit to Rs. 1.4Bn in Q2’FY21), and its parent company HAYL. Meanwhile, local HNI and institutional investors continued to remain largely on the side-lines as crossings for the week accounted for a mere 6% of total market turnover (cf. 4% last week) with investor interest mainly focused on VPEL (26.3% of crossings), JKH (19.5% of crossings) and COMB (14.6% of crossings).
Dividend Announcements
Company DPS (Rs.) Dividend Type Date (XD ); JOHN KEELLS HOLDINGS 0.50 Second Interim 16/11/2020.
Key Economic Indicators September; Prime Lending Rate-6.42% Ave. Wtd. Deposit Rates-6.44% Ave. Wtd. Fixed Dep. Rates-7.9% CCPI Inflation Y-o-Y % (Base 2013)-4%.
Net Foreign Position The sell-off on domestic equities increased this week as the number of COVID-19 cases continued to climb. Foreign investors were net sellers this week with total net outflow amounting to LKR1.32Bn relative to last week’s total net outflow of LKR0.84Bn (-57.3% W-o-W). Total foreign purchases increased by 57.7% W-o-W to LKR 0.31Bn from last week’s value of LKR 0.20Bn, while total foreign sales amounted to LKR 1.63Bn relative to LKR 1.03Bn recorded last week (+57.3% W-o-W).
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