Week starts in red

Market started on a positive note to witness both indices up during the initial trading mainly due to the price appreciation seen in index heavy Sri Lanka Telecom and with the continued interest in multinationals Nestle Lanka and Ceylon Tobacco.

Despite thin volumes across the board, banking sector counters such as Commercial Bank, DFCC and Sampath Bank attracted further interest. Despite the positive start, market lost steam to end the day in the negative territory. Bank, Finance and Insurance sector became the highest contributor to the market turnover (due to Commercial Bank) and the sector index declined by 0.81%. The share price of Commercial Bank gained Rs 1.20 (1.15%) to close at Rs 105.20. Diversified sector also contributed to the market turnover (due to John Keells Holdings and Colombo Fort Land & Building Company) and the sector index slid 0.20%.

The share price of John Keells Holdings closed flat at Rs 206.00 while Colombo Fort Land’s share price decreased by Rs 0.20 (0.59%) to close at Rs 33.50. CIC and Colombo Land & Development were also among the top contributors to the turnover. Both counters closed flat at Rs 100.00 and Rs 39.00 respectively. Nestle Lanka declared a final dividend of Rs 47.50. Indo Malay, Selinsing, Good Hope and Shalimar also declared a final dividend of Rs 16.00, Rs 29.50, Rs 21.00 and Rs 17.00 respectively.