Monday, December 24, 2012

Another mixed week for bourse

Stock Market Review for the week ending 21st December 2012:

Trading for this week commenced on a positive note with the market initially being in the green but went on to end the day in the red. The ASPI lost 19 points to close at 5,503 while the Milanka lost 33 points to close 5,522. Market turnover for the day was Rs 532 million on the back of several block trades witnessed among Environmental Resource (ERI), Chevron and Commercial Bank. The other top contributors to market turnover were Asiri Surgical and Ceylon Tobacco. The share price of ERI lost cents -/20 to close at Rs 14.80 while Chevron gained Rs 2.50 to close at Rs 200.00. Commercial Bank and Asiri Surgical closed flat at Rs 102.00 and Rs 9.00 respectively. A net foreign inflow of Rs 102 million was recorded.

On Tuesday the market witnessed a flurry of activity with the ASPI and Milanka gaining 4 and 27 points to close at 5,507 and 5,039 respectively. A market turnover of Rs 2.5 billion was recorded due to a strategic share transfer of 7.3 million shares of Asiri Central (ASHA). Shares in Asiri Central were disposed by Asiri Surgical to Asiri Hospital Holdings as part of the group restructuring process.

In addition HNW and institutional interest was witnessed among Commercial Bank, Sampath Bank, JKH and Dialog further boosting turnover. Asiri Central closed Rs 4.00 lower at Rs 250.00. The share price of Commercial Bank increased by Rs 1.60 to close at Rs 103.00 while Sampath closed lost cents -/10 to close at Rs 200.00. Foreign buying interest continued in JKH, however the counter dropped by cents -/80 to close at Rs 216.00. A net foreign inflow of Rs 140 million was witnessed for the day.

Yields on T-Bills dropped across due to Wednesday’s auction in a hope to revive the equity market.

However, the market closed propelling mixed sentiments due to the forthcoming festive season. The ASPI gained 5 points to close at 5,512, while the Milanka lost 18 points to close at 5,020. Market turnover for the day was Rs 464 million. The primary contributors to the turnover were Commercial Bank achieving Rs 194mn, Cargills Ceylon recording Rs 56.2mn followed by Bukit Dharah at Rs 52.5mn and PC Pharma at Rs 30mn. The share price of Commercial Bank lost Rs 1.00 to close at Rs 10.00 while Cargills appreciated by Rs 11.00 to close at Rs 154.00. Meanwhile Bukit Darah and PC Pharma dropped by Rs 3.00 and cents -/30 to close at Rs 662.00 and Rs 10.00 respectively. Meanwhile, net foreign buying was recorded at Rs 105.2 mn for the day.

After a slow start, the ASPI closed 15 points higher at 5,527 while the Milanka too gained 10 points to close at 5,020 on Thursday. A market turnover of Rs 811 million was recorded on the back of continuous local and foreign interest on blue chip counters. Crossings in JKH, Commercial Bank and Tokyo Cement helped boost turnover levels. Foreign activity in JKH continued to drive the counter as the top traded counter for the day contributing to Rs 572mn. JKH was followed by Aitken Spence with Rs 67mn, Commercial Bank with Rs 49mn and Tokyo Cement with Rs 30mn. The share price of JKH and Aitken Spence gained Rs 1.00 and Rs 1.50 to close at Rs 218.00 and Rs 119.00 respectively.

 Meanwhile Commercial Bank gained cents -/40 to close at Rs 102.40 while Tokyo Cement gained cents -/20 to close at Rs 27.50. A net foreign inflow of Rs 533mn was witnessed for the day.

On Friday the market closed on a mixed note with the ASPI losing 11 points to close at 5,516 while the Milanka gained 14 to close at 5,044. However activity levels were high as an increased market turnover of Rs 959 million boosted by crossings witnessed in Asiri Surgical, JKH and Commercial Bank. Other top traded counters were Chevron and Pan-Asia Bank. The share price of Asiri Surgical gained cents -/40 to close at Rs 9.40 while JKH lost cents -/20 to close at Rs 218.00. Commercial Bank and Chevron both gained almost Rs 1.50 each to close at Rs 103.00 and Rs 204.00 while Pan Asia Bank closed flat at Rs 19.00.

(Innovest Investments (Pvt) Ltd – an Investment Management Company licensed by the Securities & Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka)

source - www.island.lk

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