Stock Market Operations continued seamlessly with no interruptions between October 26 and November 6, 2020 amid an environment where some offices of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and several Stock broker Offices were located in areas subject to quarantine curfew.
Trading activity during this period indicates that investors have responded positively to the initiative taken by all capital market stakeholders to continue to operate the market remotely with considerable investor engagement being recorded during this period.
Both Stock Market indices improved between October 26 and November 6, with the All Share Price Index (ASPI) improving by 5.4% and the S&P SL 20 Index (S&PSL20) improving by 3.2%. The ASPI closed on Friday November 6 at 6,080.09 points while the S&PSL20 closed at 2,370.30. The ASPI crossed the 6000 mark on November 5, and reached its highest point since January 6, 2020. The improvement in the index has also contributed to Rs. 138 billion of value being added to the market’s market capitalization.
Investors have also actively engaged in the stock market during this period with a daily average turnover of Rs.2.4 billion, which is considerably higher than the daily average turnover for the rest of the year which is Rs. 1.7 billion. Over 208,000 trades have been recorded during this period.
CEO of CSE, Rajeeva Bandaranaike said, “The positive sentiment among investors continuing even during a period marked by limited economic activity is certainly encouraging. It indicates that investors continue to acknowledge the potential offered through the market at present.
“Investors are continuing to look towards the stock market given the relatively low interest rate environment.
‘The positive trading activity during this period also indicates that investors continue to believe in the resilience and potential of our listed companies and their ability to rise through the pandemic. We are pleased to see that investor sentiment remains positive,” he said.