The bourse sank to a more than a three year low vis-à-vis daily turnover levels and suffering six consecutive daily turnover levels of under Rs one billion each at yesterday’s training, reminiscent of its performance when COVID-19 hit the country in January 2020, but the culprits this time being sustained uncertainty, high inflation, high interest rates and heavy Government borrowings.
Subsequently the bourse made a low Rs 252.41 million turnover on a miserly 12.69 million share volume at yesterday’s trading. Prior to yesterday, the last time the bourse made a lower daily turnover level and where daily turnovers were under Rs one billion for at least six consecutive market days was more than three years ago when the COVID-19 crisis first hit Sri Lanka. Subsequently for 25 consecutive market days, ie from 30 January 2020 to 6 March 2020, the bourse made consecutive daily turnover levels of under Rs one billion.
A high interest rate regime is inimical to the growth of the bourse as then; investors are attracted to the fixed income market, rather than to the latter, to its detriment. Nonetheless the bourse enjoyed a pyrrhic net foreign inflow (NFI) of Rs 25.73 million at today’s trading, thereby upping NFIs in the calendar year to date to Rs 1.50 billion. Meanwhile, market indices too made pyrrhic gains, this time for the second consecutive market day to today, with the ASPI today making a pyrrhic gain of 1.02 per cent
to 8,799.91 points and the S&P SL 20 Index, 0.78 per cent to 2,534.03 points. Yesterday was a half-day for the bourse on account of Vesak.
