Turnover crosses Rs. 1.1 bn for the day

Indices closed in red due to price losses in counters such as John Keells Holdings, Ceylon Cold Stores and Hatton National Bank with turnover crossing Rs 1.1 Bn for the day. Crossings were witnessed in Hatton National Bank and Sampath Bank, accounting for 65.8% of turnover. Mixed interest was observed in Access Engineering and Teejay Lanka whilst retail interest was noted in Richard Peiris and Company. Meanwhile, foreigners remained active closing as net buyers mainly due to foreign purchasing in Hatton National Bank and Hatton National Bank nonvoting. Total foreign purchases accounted for 82.9% of turnover.

Banks, Finance and Insurance sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to Hatton National Bank, Sampath Bank, Hatton National Bank nonvoting and Commercial Bank) whilst the sector index lost 0.45%. The share price of Hatton National Bank decreased by Rs 4.80 (2.09%) closing at Rs 225.20 whilst foreign holdings increased by 28,168,912 shares. The share price of Sampath Bank moved up by Rs 0.30 (0.11%) to close at Rs 285.30. The share price of Hatton National Bank nonvoting closed flat at Rs 190.00 whilst foreign holdings increased by 5,186,165 shares. The share price of Commercial Bank declined by Rs 0.40 (0.29%) to close at Rs 137.60.

Diversified sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to John Keells Holdings) whilst the sector index decreased by 1.13%. The share price of John Keells Holdings lost Rs 4.20 (2.55%) to close at Rs 160.80.

Furthermore, Renuka Holdings and Renuka Foods announced their final dividends of Rs 0.35 and Rs 0.35 per share respectively.