The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) said yesterday that total market turnover in April demonstrated a growth of 29.43% compared to the previous month.
It said market turnover was recorded at Rs. 53 billion, while domestic turnover has seen a growth of 64%, indicating the sustained interest among Sri Lankan investors.
Further highlights of the month included the growth in the benchmark All Share Price Index (ASPI) closing at 7,208.20, S&P SL20 index closing at 2,869.25, the average number of trades closing at 22,037 while market capitalization stood at Rs. 3.2 trillion.
The primary market has also seen a growth in capital raising, with the debt issuance of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Chrissworld Ltd. on the Empower Board. Both issuances were oversubscribed on the first day itself and raised Rs. 20 billion and Rs. 56.25 million respectively.
WindForce Ltd. was listed at the CSE in April and the company attracted a total foreign investment of Rs. 531 million on the very first day of trading. YTD foreign purchases of equity stands at Rs. 17.1 billion as at end of April 2021.
CSE Chief Executive Officer Rajeeva Bandaranaike said: “We are happy to see investor and issuer confidence in the capital market in equal measure. This is a positive sentiment recorded at the beginning of the second quarter of the year and a continuation of the momentum demonstrated in the first quarter.”
(FT)