📈 CSE Rally Ends: Profit Taking Drives Market Down

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) closed in the red yesterday as investors engaged in profit booking following the recent post-Budget rally. • Index Performance: • ASPI dropped 0.84% (-198.24 points) to close at 23,461.46. • S&P SL20 fell 1.52% (-99.45 points) to finish at 6,458.15. • Activity & Flow: • Total market turnover was over Rs. 6.4 Billion. • Foreign investors were net sellers, recording a net outflow of over Rs. 788.7 Million. • Sector Focus: • The downturn was primarily driven by the Banking sector, which dominated market activity, accounting for 39% of total turnover. • The Materials and Capital Goods sectors jointly contributed 29% to the turnover. • Laggards: • Key negative contributors to the index included SAMP, HNB, JKH, NDB, and BUKI, reflecting broad-based decline across blue-chips. • Market breadth was negative, with 159 decliners versus 81 price gainers.