The Bourse Weekly Performance (Week-ended 17thJanuary 2014)

The Bourse Weekly Performance (Week-ended 17^thJanuary 2014)

	Week-ended 10thJanuary 2013	Week-ended 17thJanuary 2014
All Share Price Index	6,083.14	6,131.05
S&P SL20 Index	3,384.51	3,407.94
Total Turnover for the week (LKR)	4,984,575,467	4,891,765,220
Total Net Foreign Inflow/ (Outflow) (LKR)	440,793,548	56,567,898
Market PER	16.38	16.60

As the Wolf of Wall Street hits DVD stores in Colombo this week, The Bulls of Colombo continued their buying frenzy in the local market. Block trades in large cap counters continued as funds piled into the banking sector and the usual suspects such as JKH, NEST, COMB and LLUB etc. The rumor mills continue to work hard in Colombo, churning out fabricated details on the consolidation that is yet to take place in the Non-Banking Financial Institutions (NBFI). These tales encouraged speculators to keep bidding up long lost small cap finance and sandal wood companies.

US market are getting ready for an optimistic earnings season which might eventually increase volatility and crush markets by the much needed 10% correction, it has been waited for. The banking and retail sector disappointed traders this week which put a pause on the bull pedal. 

In Europe the data just continues to disappoint as Germanys economy grew by just 0.4% in 2013 according to a first estimate, the worst showing since the depths of the financial crisis. Feeble exports were a factor.  However better than expected data and bond auctions out of Spain, Ireland and Italy are slowly pushing these markets higher.

Though on Friday both ASPI and S&P closed on a negative note, throughout the shortest week theindices gained 47.91 and 23.43 points respectively to close the week at 6,131.05points and 3,407.94 points.The ASPI hit the intraday high of 6,178.10 points on Friday and were steady above the already broken psychological barrier of 6,000 pointsofASPI.

The week generated a total turnover of LKR 4.89Bn supported by off the marketdeals on JKH, COMB, LOFC,PAP and LLUB.

A total of 275.4 Mn shares changed hands during the week, indicating an increase of 27.39% compared to the previous week. Foreign purchases for the week which amounted to LKR 1.66Bn outpaced the foreign sales of LKR 1.60Bn resulting in a net foreign inflow of LKR 56.56Mn during the week.With this the YTD foreign inflow recorded an amount of LKR 23.03Bn. The market PER and PBV stood at 16.60x and 2.04x respectively by end of the week.

The Bourse Weekly Performance (Week-ended 10th January 2014)

The Bourse Weekly Performance (Week-ended 10^th January 2014)

	Week-ended 3rd January 2013	Week-ended 10th January 2014
All Share Price Index	5,973.80	6,083.14
S&P SL20 Index	3,294.82	3,384.51
Total Turnover for the week (Rs.)	2,374,254,696/-	4,984,575,467/-
Total Net Foreign Inflow / (Outflow) (Rs.)	(2,765,564/-)	440,793,548/-
Market Capitalisation (Rs.)	2,485,284,831,934/-	2,530,783,981,166/-
Market PER	16.08	16.38

Reuter’s reports indicated that “the end of the week saw Asian share markets soggy, specially on Friday, after Chinese trade data proved to be a mixed bag, leaving investors with little incentive to take positions, ahead of the U.S. jobs. Japan's Nikkei pared losses to be down a mere 0.1%, while the Hong Kong market added 0.4%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan also inched up 0.1%”. Reports on the local market indicated that “Colombo bourse gained 1.3% on Wednesday to a near five-month high and broke its psychological barrier of 6,000, led by market heavyweight JKH. Analysts said the Central Bank’s interest rate cut last week had boosted the sentiment and helped sustain the gain”. The Central Bank slashed the standing lending facility rate or reverse repurchase rate by 50 basis points to a multi-year low of 8% previous week, in a move to reduce commercial banks’ interest rate spreads.

This week the ASI gained 109 points while the S&P gained 89 points. Though the start of the week saw a drop in the ASI for the first time for 2014, the bourse picked up momentum on Tuesday and rose four straight sessions by close of business on Friday. The total gain in the ASI for 2014 has been 170 points indicating a promising start for the year. This week the bourse generated over Rs. 4.9 Billion in turnover, which was mainly generated by Banking Finance and Insurance, Diversified Holdings and Manufacturing sectors. The week saw shares such as Commercial Bank, JKH, CTC, and Nestle trading heavily contributing for this turnover.

Foreigners are seen to be keen buyers in the market bringing the Net Foreign inflow for the year to Rs. 97.7 Mn within seven sessions. Regardless of the promising indicators currently witnessed, some analysts suggest that investors are seen to be locking in funds in risk-free debentures instead of risky assets due to a sluggish Bourse amid falling interest rates. However, while local investors are currently seen to be fairly risk averse, turnover at the Colombo Bourse was boosted by foreign buying in risky assets. Reports suggest that investors should focus on quality shares for double-digit returns.

The Bourse Weekly Performance (Week-ended 3rd January 2014)

The Bourse Weekly Performance (Week-ended 3^rd January 2014)

	Week-ended 27th December 2013	Week-ended 3rd January 2014
All Share Price Index	5,876.66	5,973.80
S&P SL20 Index	3,240.63	3,294.82
Total Turnover for the week (Rs.)	1,962,115,721/-	2,374,254,696/-
Total Net Foreign Inflow / (Outflow) (Rs.)	251,080,175/-	(2,765,564/-)
Market Capitalisation (Rs.)	2,444,870,917,079/-	2,485,284,831,934/-
Market PER	15.27	16.08

2013 was a disappointment for equity investors at the Colombo bourse as the ASPI rose only 4.78% year-to-date. The Index was seen to have underperformed against major developed and emerging markets this year, even though it managed to close in the green for the year, unlike in 2012. Despite the marginal increase in the index, bluechip stocks in the food and beverages, healthcare and banking sectors, have reported double digit gains during the year 2013 supported by foreign buying. Reports indicated that “Notwithstanding eurozone debt tensions, most global equity markets rose during the year with foreign funds flowing into both developed and emerging market equities. Foreigners continued their buying spree with net inflows of Rs. 22.8 Billion in 2013, indicating their confidence in Sri Lankan equities”. However, the Bourse rose to a strong start for a fifth straight session to an 11-week high on Thursday as investors bought banking shares. This was after the Central Bank cut the reverse repo (now known as standing lending facility) rate by 50 basis points to a multi-year low.

Though the start of 2014 seems promising for the Colombo bourse, U.S. stocks fell on their first day of trading in 2014. Reports indicated that this was because investors booked profits in the wake of the S&P 500's best yearly advance since 1997, with many of last year's strongest performers down on the day. Reuter’s also reported that “European shares were fighting to hold their ground on Friday after a turbulent day for Asian markets that saw a sudden reversal in some very popular, and thus crowded, trades. The result was a pullback in the euro, sterling, and Asian stocks and a bounce for the yen, gold and bonds. Oil prices also took a spill, though for largely separate reasons”. The S&P closed 2013 with a 29.6 percent gain for the year, its best annual performance since 1997. The Dow surged 26.5 percent in its best year since 1995. The Nasdaq jumped 38.3 percent, its best year since 2009.

Given below is a look at year to date figures at the Colombo bourse for 2012 and 2013;

	2013	2012
Year end ASPI	5,912.78	5,643.00
Year to Date gain/ (loss) in ASPI	4.78%	(7.10%)
Year end S&P	3,263.87	3,085.33
Year end Market Capitalisation	Rs. 2,459 Billion	Rs. 2,167 Billion
Net Foreign Inflow for the year	Rs. 22.8 Billion	Rs. 39.2 Billion
Year end PER	15.92	15.93