FINANCIAL CHRONICLE – On Tuesday, the Colombo Stock Exchange experienced a positive closing as investors remained cautious while anticipating a potential truce between the US and Iran.
Raynal Wickremeratne, the Head of Strategy at Softlogic Stockbrokers, commented on the situation, stating, “If an agreement is not reached, the market has already anticipated a certain degree of volatility. However, should a deal be finalized, it would represent a significant boost for the market.”
The All Share Index rose by 0.30 percent, gaining 67.46 points to reach 22,637.49. Similarly, the S&P SL20 index inched up by 0.01 percent, or 0.38 points, closing at 6,222.41.
Notable positive performers included Bukit Darah, which surged by 8.49 percent to 999.50 rupees, Central Finance Company, which increased by 1.90 percent to 254.75 rupees, and Melstacorp, which saw a gain of 0.69 percent to 182 rupees. In contrast, John Keells Holdings fell by 0.49 percent to 20.30 rupees, National Development Bank declined by 1.09 percent to 113.25 rupees, and DFCC Bank dropped by 0.69 percent to 144 rupees, marking the top negative impacts on the index.
The total turnover for the day amounted to 3.56 billion rupees, with consumer services contributing 1.02 billion rupees to this figure.
In the international arena, the US DOW Jones 30 index remained unchanged at 49,442.56 points. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose by 0.48 percent to 26,487.48 points, and India’s Nifty50 index increased by 0.79 percent, closing at 24,556.65 points.
Additionally, Abans Finance, a subsidiary of Abans, announced that it had received preliminary approval from the Colombo Stock Exchange to issue debentures worth 1.5 billion rupees at a fixed interest rate of 12.50 percent, along with a floating rate of AWPLR plus 2.00 percent. The company’s shares closed up by 3.87 percent at 96.70 rupees.
(Colombo/Apr21/2026)
