Indices close in green

The ASPI closed in green as a result of price gains in counters such as Ceylon Cold Stores, Vallibel One and John Keells Holdings. Meanwhile,a similar behaviour was witnessed in S&P Sl20.theturnover crossing Rs 860 Mn for the day. High net worth and institutional investor participation was seen in John Keells Holdings, Dialog Axiata,amana Takaful Lifeand Softlogic Holdings. Retail interest was noted in Swarnamahal Financial Services and Vallibel Finance. Furthermore, foreigners remained active closing as net buyers mainly due to foreign purchasing in Softlogic Holdings. Total foreign purchases accounted for 41.3% of turnover.

Diversified sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to John Keells Holdings and Softlogic Holdings) whilst the sector index gained 0.32%. The share price of John Keells Holdings increased by Rs 1.00 (0.63%) to close at Rs 159.00. The share price of Softlogic Holdings closed flat at Rs 24.00 whilst foreign holdings increased by 1,696,005 shares.

Banks, Finance and Insurance sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to Janashakthi Insurance Company and Amana Takaful Life) whilst the sector index increased by 0.39%. The share price of Janashakthi Insurance Company moved up by Rs 1.50 (4.82%) to close at Rs 32.60. The share price of Amana Takaful Life recorded a gain of Rs 0.20 (15.38%) to close at Rs 1.50.

Dialog Axiata was also included amongst the top turnover contributors. The share price of Dialog Axiata gained Rs 0.10 (0.74%) to close at Rs 13.60.