The Bourse Weekly Performance (Week-ended 22ndFebruary2013)

The Bourse Weekly Performance (Week-ended 22^ndFebruary2013)

	15th February 2013	22ndFebruary 2013
All Share Price Index	5,830.26	5,735.61
S&P SL20 Index	3,274.25	3,223.28
Total Turnover for the week	3,074,111,871/-	3,937,713,361/-
Total Net Foreign Inflow/ (Outflow)	148,266,122/-	511,534,667/-
Market Capitalisation	2,239,774,054,377/-	2,203,535,258,375/-
Market PER	16.5	15.5

Rising pressure from the international community on the West-backed human rights proceedings against Sri Lanka coupled with profit taking resulted in the Colombo Bourse being in bearish for four straight sessions this week. Although the bourse faced the same situation during 2012, further proceedings on Human Rights related issue seems to have hit the bourse with drastic effects. Meanwhile, Q3 for 2012/13 is seen to have mixed results although companies in specific industries which are positioned to outperform others have posted improved results.

The centre of attention this week was JKH, which reached its 52-week high levels mid-week. Meanwhile, many Blue chips contributed to the weekly turnover and the market was seen to be concentrating on the fundamentals. Among the most traded blue-chips this week were, JKH, HNB, NTB, Commercial Bank, Sampath Bank, CTC, Distilleries, Colombo Dockyard, etc.Contributing to the increase in foreign inflow to the bourse large deals on banking counters such as Hatton National Bank and Commercial Bank helped to boost turnover on the 19^th Feb, another day dominated by blue-chips. Average Daily turnover for the week was slightly up from the previous week, even though it was well below the daily average reported so far for 2013. This week too foreigners were seen to be net buyers and the Net foreign inflow for the week was 245% higher than the previous week.

In sector statistics the highest contribution for the weekly turnover came in from the Banking Finance & Insurance sector followed by Diversified Holdings sector. The highest gain was reported in the Footwear & Textiles sector index (+0.36%) while the losses in the Information Technology sector index (-5.76%) surpassed all. This week the Colombo bourse witnessed a drastic drop in its year-to-date profits reported so far. The total losses in the market indices were 94 points and 50 points in terms of the ASI and the S&P while the market capitalisation lost Rs. 363.2Billion. As of the 22^nd Feb 2013, the year-to-date gain at the Colombo Bourse was 1.6% approximately.

The Bourse Weekly Performance (Week-ended 15thFebruary2013)

The Bourse Weekly Performance (Week-ended 15^thFebruary2013)

	8thFebruary 2013	15thFebruary 2013
All Share Price Index	5,850.67	5,830.26
S&P SL20 Index	3,271.25	3,274.25
Total Turnover for the week	5,103,480,054/-	3,074,111,871/-
Total Net Foreign Inflow/ (Outflow)	(234,054,143/-)	148,266,122/-
Market Capitalisation	2,247,589,101,568/-	2,239,774,054,377.00
Market PER	16.6	16.5

Performance levels were seen to have a downward trend this week at the Colombo bourse. Amidst the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raising concerns over the economic growth of Sri Lanka and the Chinese New Year, performance at the Colombo bourse reached its one-week low levels. The IMF in its statement has warned Sri Lanka of slower growth, high inflation, and lower tax revenue risks.  The Central Bank said on Tuesday that authorities had decided not to pursue a new loan from the IMF.

Turnover levels continued to decline over the week and the average daily turnover this week was Rs. 614Million significantly below the daily average of Rs. 1.12Billion reported so far for 2013. The total turnover was 40% lower than previous week. However, foreign participation in the market was seen to be positive this week as foreigners were net buyers on three straight sessions. The main indices closed for the week with the ASI losing a total of 20 points and the S&P gaining a mere3 points. The drop in the ASI was equivalent to a loss of Rs. 7.81Billion in the Market Cap.

In sector performances this week, the highest contribution for the weekly turnover came in from the Banking Finance & Insurance sector while the best performer and the poorest performer were Oil Palms (+1.34%) and Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals (-2.93%) sectors respectively. Banking Finance & Insurance sector counters such as HNB, Sampath Bank, Commercial Bank and NDB gained notable attention from investors during the week along with market heavy weight JKH. These shares were the main contributors to the weekly turnover.

Yields in T-bills fell for the 10th straight week at the weekly auction on Wednesday, with the 364-day T-bill rate down to a near one-year low of 11.10%. Analysts and investors believe, that this situation is likely to reverse in the future if the government does resort to expensive commercial borrowing to bridge the budget gap given the inability to raise funds through the IMF. Under these circumstances Experts advise investors to make informed investment decisions. The Colombo bourse so far carries year to date gains for 2013 in both the ASI (3.32%) and the Market Cap(3.33%).

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Exchange Rates(Week-ended 15^thFebruary 2013)

The rupee depreciated during the week against its last week’s closing levels of Rs 126.28 to a two week low of Rs 125.72 yesterday on the back of continued importer demand. The total USD/LKR traded volume for the previous day (14-02-13) stood at US $ 53.00 million. Given below are some forward dollar rates that prevailed in the market;

1 Month – 127.55           

3 Months- 129.38           

6 Months- 132.05

The Bourse Weekly Performance (Week-ended 8thFebruary2013)

The Bourse Weekly Performance (Week-ended 8^thFebruary2013)

	1st February 2013	8thFebruary 2013
All Share Price Index	5,799.69	5,850.67
S&P SL20 Index	3,196.81	3,271.25
Total Turnover for the week	9,164,244,919/-	5,103,480,054/-
Total Net Foreign Inflow/ (Outflow)	(420,170,951/-)	(234,054,143/-)
Market Capitalisation	2,227,911,758,736/-	2,247,589,101,568/-
Market PER	16.41	16.6

The latter part of this week saw the Colombo bourse bounce back amidst strong participation across-the-board. Activity levels focused primarily on banking and diversified sectors,even though the main index was facing drops amidst retail profit taking during the last few sessions.Substantial foreign investments increased the net foreign inflow for the week.

The main market index gained a total of 50 points this week while the S&P index gained 74 points. However, the turnover levels failed to reach the levels marked the week before and the Average Daily turnover this week was Rs.1.2 Bn, i.e. 30% below the previous week. Amidst the counters that marked the highest contribution to the performance of the bourse were counters such as HNB, Commercial Bank, Sampath Bank & JKH which saw significant foreign interest. The best performing sector this week in terms of its sector index was the Telecommunications sector while the poorest performance was marked in the Stores and Supplies sector.

Amidst decreasing interest rates and stable domestic currency, Analysts believe that many investors are on the sidelines ahead of the Central Bank’s key monetary policy announcement for February. As per the experts, given the drop in interest rates the equity market is much attractive to investors over fixed income securities, especially at its current prices and with expectation of future foreign investments.

So far this year the Colombo bourse has been reporting year-to-date gains in both ASI & Market Cap. As at 8^th Feb 2013, this was 3.6% approximately.

Exchange Rates(Week-ended 8^thFebruary 2013)

The USD/LKR rate gained marginally during the week to close the week at levels of Rs 126.28 against its previous week’s closing of Rs 126.40, mainly due to exporters converting on forward dollar contracts. The green back was seen appreciating to weekly high of Rs.125.90 on the 07th of February. The total dollar/rupee volume for the previous day (07-02-13) was US $ 49.45 million. Given below are some forward dollar rates that prevailed in the market,

1 Month – 127.05            

3 Months- 128.93          

6 Months- 131.73