Foreign purchases account for 82.4% of turnover

Both ASPI and S&P SL20 closed in green due to price gains in counters such as John Keells Holdings, Dialog Axiata and Commercial Bank with turnover crossing Rs 785 Mn. Crossings were witnessed in Hatton National Bank, Hemas Holdings and John Keells Holdings accounting for 41.1% of turnover. Mixed interest was observed in Chevron Lubricants whilst retail interest was noted in Tokyo Cement Company. Meanwhile, foreigners remained active closing as net buyers mainly due to foreign purchases in Hemas Holdings and John Keells Holdings. Total foreign purchases accounted for 82.4% of turnover.

Diversified sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to Hemas Holdings and John Keells Holdings) whilst the sector index gained 1.36%. The share price of Hemas Holdings increased by Rs 1.10 (1.04%) closing at Rs 107.00 whilst foreign holdings increased by 2,415,723 shares. The share price of John Keells Holdings gained Rs 2.40 (1.64%) closing at Rs 148.40 whilst foreign holdings increased by 473,457 shares.

Banks, Finance and Insurance sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to Hatton National Bank and Seylan Bank ) whilst the sector index increased by 0.56%. The share price of Hatton National Bank moved up by Rs 0.10 (0.04%) to close at Rs 227.10. The share price of Seylan Bank increased by Rs 2.20 (2.27%) to close at Rs 99.00.

Chevron Lubricants was also included amongst the top turnover contributors. The share price of Chevron Lubricants recorded a gain of Rs 3.30 (2.02%) to close at Rs 166.50.

Furthermore, Odel announced an interim dividend of Rs 0.40 per share. HNB Assurance and Dialog Axiata announced their final dividend of Rs 5.00 and Rs 0.39 per share respectively whilst Overseas Realty announced a first & final dividend of Rs 1.25 per share.