Crossings account for 75% of turnover

The ASPI closed in green as a result of price gains in counters such as John Keells Holdings, Ceylon Tobacco Company and Hatton National Bank with the turnover crossing Rs 1.5 Bn. A similar behaviour was witnessed in the S&P SL20. Crossings were witnessed in John Keells Holdings, Dialog Axiata, Amana Takaful and Access Engineering, accounting for 74.7% of the turnover. Furthermore, foreigners remained active closing as net sellers mainly due to foreign selling in John Keells Holdings. Total foreign sales accounted for 88.2% of the turnover.

Diversified sector was the top contributor to the market turnover (due to John Keells Holdings) whilst the sector index gained 1.38%. The share price of John Keells Holdings increased by Rs 3.00 (2.38%) closing at Rs 129.00 whilst foreign holdings decreased by 3,776,976 shares.

Banks, Finance and Insurance sector was the second highest contributor to the market turnover (due to Amana Takaful and Sampath Bank) whilst the sector index increased by 0.50%. The share price of Amana Takaful moved down by Rs 0.10 (1.56%) to close at Rs 6.30. The share price of Sampath Bank recorded a gain of Rs 3.20 (1.46%) to close at Rs 222.10.

Dialog Axiata and Kahawatte Plantations were also included amongst the top turnover contributors. The share price of Dialog Axiata closed flat at Rs 11.70. The share price of Kahawatte Plantations closed flat at Rs 38.00