The Bourse Weekly Performance (Week-ended 8thMarch2013)

The Bourse Weekly Performance (Week-ended 8^thMarch2013)

	1st March 2013	8th March 2013
All Share Price Index	5,652.69	5,691.39
S&P SL20 Index	3,206.85	3,222.74
Total Turnover for the week	3,441,502,637/-	6,742,202,937/-
Total Net Foreign Inflow/ (Outflow)	(91,277,425/-)	3,274,145,060/-
Market Capitalisation	2,171,703,001,088/-	2,187,046,289,408/-
Market PER	15.3	15.4

Regardless of UNHRC development foreigners were happy buyers with a net foreign inflow of nearly Rs. 3Bn this week. The largest contribution came in from an off the counter deal where German and Dutch fundsinvested Rs. 1.8 billion to acquire a strategic collective stake of 38% in Asian Alliance Insurance PLC.Analysts noted the investment and resultant confidence by the two European financing agencies indicated well for the stock market as well as the overall financial services industry and undoubtedly the highest contributor for the weekly turnover was the Banking, Finance and Insurance Sector.

Overall Investors were seen to be resilient as the bourse was mostly in the green and the dipping indices have once again reversed its direction and is increasing year-to-date gains. Foreign buying, as well as relatively better local investor sentiments, boosted the Colombo bourse this week where the main index closed up 0.68% while the blue-chip index S&P closed up 0.5% for the week. The average daily turnover was much higher than the average daily turnover marked for the year and many blue chips such as JKH, HNB, Sampath Bank, Commercial Bank, NDB, Asian Alliance Insurance were among the favourites at this week’s share market.

At this week’s Treasury bill auction the interest rates edged upward. However, the Colombo bourse reacted in the opposite to the theoretical expectations. Thus amidst signs of possible interest rate rises in the future and the stabilizinglocal currency against the US$, Analysts believe this is an ideal time to buy fundamentally valued stocks. Foreign investors at the Colombo bourse are an excellent indicator of this timing. So far this year foreigners are net buyers with a year to date net foreign inflow of Rs. 2.5Bn. The Market Cap increased by Rs. 15Bn and the year to date gain in the ASI as at the 8^th of March 2013 was0.86%.

The Bourse Weekly Performance (Week-ended 1st March2013)

The Bourse Weekly Performance (Week-ended 1^st March2013)

	22nd February 2013	22ndFebruary 2013
All Share Price Index	5,735.61	5,652.69
S&P SL20 Index	3,223.28	3,206.85
Total Turnover for the week	3,937,713,361/-	3,441,502,637/-
Total Net Foreign Inflow/ (Outflow)	511,534,667/-	(91,277,425/-)
Market Capitalisation	2,203,535,258,375/-	2,171,703,001,088/-
Market PER	15.5	15.3

The bourse faced mixed sentiments this holiday shortened week, amidst changing macro-economic fundamentals in the country and controversial developments on the UNHRC Human Rights Resolution against Sri Lanka. The substantial increase in fuel prices on the 24^th Februaryresulted in Investors expecting more pressure on already high inflation. All these factors and losses marked in some market heavy weights also contributed to the ASI reached its lowest since the 28^th of December 2012. At the bourse some blue-chips lost ground as retail selling picked up, while private deals on them helped improve the turnover levels. Analysts also pointed out that the flattening of the interest rate trend line at the weekly treasury bill auction also may have resulted in some investors taking to the side-lines awaiting direction on the future interest rate movements.

Seylan Bank gained a notable 33% this week, while the biggest contributions to the weekly turnover came in from Aitken Spence, Commercial Bank, JKH, HNB, Sampath Bank, etc. Leisure conglomerate Aitken Spence saw almost 6.5m shares trade on the normal board on the 28^th Feb contributing to a near 50% of the weekly turnover. The Banking Finance & Insurance sector was once again leading the turnover chart contributing for Rs. 1.5Bn of turnover this week. Diversified Holdings sector generated a turnover of Rs. 1.1Bn. No other sector was able to achieve such high turnover levels. The highest gain in sector indices was marked in the Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals sector which was 1.39%. An alarming performance was marked in the Information Technology sector when its main index lost over 8.6% this week. Foreigners were net sellers this week.

The stock market movement was heartbreaking as Investors saw the ASI reported a year-to-date loss by mid-week. However, this situation marginally improved on 1^st March and the net yield for the year at the Colombo bourse turned to a positive 0.1% in terms of the ASI and the Market Cap.The Colombo bourse lost a total of Rs. 31.8Bn in market cap during the week.

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.