By Hiran H.Senewiratne
CSE trading activities were positive yesterday at the beginning and mid- day shares edged up driven by Expolanka and Lanka IOC, market analysts said.
After margin calls selling pressure reduced in the market and the neutralization of macro- economic conditions created positive sentiment for the stock market, analysts said.
Analysts said that the market was driven by Expolanka and Lanka IOC on positive sentiment. Last Friday, Expolanka pushed -up the market following the announcement of its expansion plans. The market generated a turnover of Rs 1.1 billion in its first hour of trade, compared to a daily average of Rs 1.2 billion. The Expolanka share price appreciated by Rs 19 or 12 per cent. Its share price shot up to Rs 182.25 from Rs 163.25 at the end of trading.
Amid these developments both indices moved upwards. The All- Share Price Index (ASPI) gained by 161 points, while Sri Lanka’s most liquid index grew by 101 points. Turnover stood at Rs 2.45 billion with two crossings. Those crossings were reported in Lankem Development, which crossed 1.4 million shares to the tune of Rs 41 million, its shares traded at Rs 29.30 and Lanka IOC 120,000 shares crossed for Rs 22.2 million and its shares traded at Rs 185.
In the retail market top seven companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were Expolanka Holdings Rs 1.12 billion (6.3 million shares traded), Lanka-IOC Rs 336 million (1.7 million shares traded), Browns Investments Rs 193 million (33 million shares traded), ACL Cables Rs 86.2 million (1.1 million shares traded), First Capital Holdings Rs 67.5 million (3.4 million shares traded), LOLC Holdings Rs 61.1 million (168,000 shares traded) and Lankem Development Rs 32 million (1.1 million shares traded). During the day 77.1 million share volumes changed hands in 20000 transactions.
The country’s manufacturing and services sectors contracted in October as per the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) compiled by the Central Bank.
The Manufacturing PMI saw a decline of 4.2 index points in comparison to September driven by decreases recorded in all the sub-indices. The Services PMI gained by 3.3 index points due to the declines observed in new businesses, employment and backlog of work.
Nevertheless, business activities and expectations for activity continued their increasing momentum during the month.
Yesterday the Central Bank- announced US dollar buying rate was Rs 360.29 and the selling rate Rs 371.29.
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