Foreign purchases account for 83.4% of turnover

ASPI closed in green as a result of price gains in counters such as Ceylon Cold Stores, Lion Brewery and Melstacorp Limited whilst turnover crossed Rs 711 Mn. Similar behavior was witnessed in S&P SL20. Crossings were witnessed in Melstacorp Limited, Lion Brewery, Ceylon Cold Stores, Hemas Holdings and Expolanka Holdings accounting for 48.5% of turnover. Mixed interest was observed in Chevron Lubricants Lanka whilst retail interest was noted in Access Engineering. Meanwhile, foreigners remained active closing as net buyers mainly due to foreign purchases in Melstacorp Limited and Hemas Holdings. Total foreign purchases accounted for 83.4% of turnover.

Diversified sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to Melstacorp Limited and Hemas Holdings) whilst the sector index gained 0.07%. The share price of Melstacorp Limited increased by Rs 1.70 (2.69%) closing at Rs 65.00 whilst foreign holdings increased by 3,031,000 shares. The share price of Hemas Holdings lost Rs 2.50 (2.30%) closing at Rs 106.00 whilst foreign holdings increased by 779,616 shares.

Beverage, Food and Tobacco sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to Ceylon Cold Stores and Lion Brewery) whilst the sector index increased by 1.07%. The share price of Ceylon Cold Stores moved up by Rs 45.00 (6.12%) to close at Rs 780.00. The share price of Lion Brewery increased by Rs 27.00 (6.27%) to close at Rs 457.30.

Singer Sri Lanka was also included amongst the top turnover contributors. The share price of Singer Sri Lanka recorded a gain of Rs 0.20 (0.14%) to close at Rs 145.10.

Furthermore, Good Hope announced an interim dividend of Rs 38.05 per share.