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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Market falls on dull local investor sentiment despite net foreign inflows

*Stock Market Review for the week ending 22nd February 2013:

Stocks hit a seven-week low towards the middle of the week, and profit taking was confined to stocks such as Sampath Bank which had rallied significantly in prior weeks.

Trading for the week commenced on a negative note as both indices remained in red throughout the day owing to negative sentiments. Both the ASPI and S&P SL20 lost 56 and 25 points respectively to close at 5,775 and 3,249. A turnover of Rs. 870Mn was recorded on the back of crossings witnessed in John Keells Holdings, Hatton National Bank and Carsons. The top contributors for the day were John Keells Holdings with Rs. 358Mn, Asiri Surgical with Rs. 146Mn and Hatton National Bank with Rs. 49Mn. The share price of John Keells Holdings and Asiri Surgical closed flat at Rs. 230.10 and Rs. 9.00 respectively while Hatton National Bank lost Rs. 0.90 to close at Rs. 148.00. However on a positive note, net foreign buying stood at Rs. 426.2Mn.

The market continued to lose steam on Tuesday, with both the indices continuing to fall as local investor sentiment remained negative. The ASPI lost 37 points to close at 5,737 while the S&P SL20 lost 11 points to close at 3,239. An improved turnover of Rs. 1.5Bn was recorded as foreigners stepped up buying and continued to remain bullish on blue-chips. The top contributors list was headed by Hatton National Bank with Rs. 799Mn followed by Commercial Bank with Rs. 281Mn and John Keells Holdings with Rs. 198Mn. The share price of Hatton National Bank lost Rs. 0.90 to close at Rs. 147.10 while Commercial Bank gained Rs. 1.10 to close at Rs. 108.60. John Keells Holdings climbed to Rs. 231.00, up Rs 0.90. Foreign buying of Rs. 1.2Bn was recorded against sales of Rs. 898Mn resulting in a net inflow of Rs. 301Mn.

The market fell further on Wednesday as the ASPI closed 7 points lower at 5,731 and the S&P SL20 closed 14 points lower at 3,225. A turnover of Rs. 763Mn was recorded on the back of continued foreign interest in Hatton National Bank which incidentally was the day’s top contributor with Rs. 311Mn. The other top contributors were Ceylon Tobacco and John Keells Holdings contributing Rs. 189Mn and Rs. 69Mn respectively. The share price of Hatton National Bank closed flat at Rs. 147.00 while Ceylon Tobacco increased by Rs. 2.80 to close at Rs. 817.50. John Keells Holdings gained Rs. 1.80 to close at Rs. 231.00. A net foreign outflow of Rs. 224Mn was recorded.

The market fell for the fourth straight session when the ASPI lost 4 points to close at 5,726 while the S&P SL20 also dropped by 12 points to end at 3,213. A modest turnover of Rs. 484Mn was recorded with foreigners continuing to be bullish on John Keells Holdings. Sampath Bank, which saw a lot of interest in the past few days, saw its value drop by Rs. 7.40 to Rs. 227.00. The top contributors list was headed by John Keells Holdings contributing Rs. 328Mn. The other top contributors for the day were Commercial Bank and Dialog Axiata contributing Rs. 19Mn and Rs. 16Mn respectively. The share price of John Keells Holdings gained Rs. 2.40 to close at Rs. 235.20 while Commercial Bank lost Rs. 1.00 to close at Rs. 107.00. Dialog Axiata closed flat at Rs. 9.10. Net foreign buying stood at Rs. 297Mn.

The market picked up on Friday with the ASPI gaining 10 points to close at 5,736 and the S&P SL20 gaining 11 points to close at 3,223. A dull turnover of Rs. 300Mn was recorded with a crossing in John Keells Holdings aiding to prop up turnover. The top traded counters for the day were John Keells Holdings with Rs. 97Mn, Tokyo Cement (Non-voting) with Rs. 22Mn and Access Engineering with Rs. 21Mn. John Keells Holdings ended the week reaching a 52 week high of Rs. 236.90, up Rs. 1.50. Access Engineering closed flat at Rs. 20.50 while Tokyo Cement (Non-voting) gained Rs. 0.20 to close at Rs. 18.00. Foreign buying interest continued with a net inflow of Rs. 95Mn being recorded.

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

source - www.island.lk