Indices close in red

ASPI closed in red due to price losses in counters such as John Keells Holdings, Melstacorp Limited and Cargills. A similar behavior was witnessed in S&P SL20. The turnover crossed Rs 808 Mn for the day. High net worth and institutional investor participation was witnessed in Browns Capital, Melstacorp Limited and R I L Property. Mixed interest was observed in Richard Peiris & Company. Meanwhile, foreigners remained active closing as net buyers mainly due to foreign purchasing in Sampath Bank and R I L Property.

Diversified sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to Browns Capital, Melstacorp Limited and John Keells Holdings) whilst the sector index lost 0.49%. The share price of Browns Capital closed flat at Rs 4.00. The share price of Melstacorp Limited lost Rs 1.00 (1.69%) to close at Rs 58.00. The share price of John Keells Holdings moved down by Rs 1.40 (0.88%) to close at Rs 158.50.

Banks, Finance and Insurance sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to Sampath Bank) whilst the sector index edged up by 0.09%. The share price of Sampath Bank recorded a gain of Rs 0.60 (0.20%) closing at Rs 295.00 whilst foreign holdings increased by 95,000 shares.r I L Property was also included amongst the top turnover contributors. The share price of R I L Property increased by Rs 0.10 (1.27%) closing at Rs 8.00 whilst foreign holdings increased by 4,675,898 shares.

Furthermore, Lanka Tiles announced an interim dividend of Rs 4.00 per share.