FINANCIAL CHRONICLE – The Colombo Stock Exchange in Sri Lanka experienced a positive closing on Friday, with the benchmark All Share Price Index (ASPI) rising by 1.75 percent, according to data from the CSE. The ASPI increased by 372.93 points, reaching a total of 21,642.95, while the S&P SL20 index, which reflects more liquid stocks, saw a gain of 1.48 percent, or 87.71 points, closing at 6,022.99.
Raynal Wickremeratne, the Head of Research and Strategy at NDB Securities, noted that the market’s upbeat sentiment was largely influenced by a statement from US President Donald Trump, who announced that he would not proceed with planned military actions against Iran. He mentioned, “For this upward trend to remain stable, we need to see similar positive movements over the coming days.”
Several stocks contributed positively to the ASPI, including Hatton National Bank, which rose by 2.06 percent to 396.00 rupees, Commercial Bank of Ceylon with a 1.63 percent increase to 202.25 rupees, John Keells Holdings climbing 1.52 percent to 20.00 rupees, and DFCC Bank seeing a rise of 3.19 percent to 129.50 rupees.
On the downside, Seylan Developments fell by 11.11 percent to 0.80 rupees, Bukit Darah decreased by 0.75 percent to 831.00 rupees, and Malwatte Valley Plantations dropped by 3.47 percent to 52.90 rupees.
The total market turnover reached 1.992 billion rupees, with banks leading this figure at 490.8 million rupees. Wickremeratne also highlighted that the market turnover has been relatively low, suggesting that investors are waiting for an opportune moment to make purchases. He indicated that potential peace talks in the Middle East could serve as a catalyst for market activity.
In corporate news, Dialog Axiata reported that all resolutions from its 29th Annual General Meeting were successfully passed, including the declaration of a final dividend as recommended by its Board of Directors and the reappointment of Deloitte Partners as the company’s auditors. The shares of Dialog Axiata ended the day up by 0.92 percent at 43.90 rupees.
In a statement on his Truth Social platform, President Trump remarked: “Based on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have reached the highest levels of Iranian leadership and received approval, I, as President of the United States, have canceled the planned strikes and bombings against Iran this evening. All parties involved, including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and others, have endorsed the discussions and final points in both concept and detail. The Naval Blockade will remain fully enforced until this agreement is finalized—the timing and location of the signing will be announced shortly.”
