Sri Lanka’s Colombo Stock Exchange experienced a decline on Thursday as several companies faced selling pressure, despite overall buying interest, as reported by market brokers.
The All Share Price Index decreased by 0.38%, equivalent to a drop of 91.22 points, ending the day at 23,900.89. Meanwhile, the S&P SL20 index saw a slight decline of 0.22%, losing 14.55 points to close at 6,655.66.
Dimantha Matthew, Chief Research and Strategy Officer at First Capital Holdings PLC, commented, “There was some volatility despite buying interest in the overall market. Speculative stocks, such as Dockyard, are witnessing a price decrease. Even John Keells Holdings, in spite of its positive results, experienced some selling pressure today.”
Among the top negative contributors to the All Share Price Index were Senkadagala Finance, with a price of Rs.1,005, Ceylon Tobacco Company at Rs.1,701.50, and John Keells Holdings at Rs.22.70.
The market turnover totaled 6.92 billion rupees, with significant contributions from the Capital Goods sector (1.55 billion rupees) and Real Estate Management and Development (1.37 billion rupees). “There is investor interest in real estate sector stocks,” Matthew noted.
Prime Lands Residencies made a substantial contribution of 1.2 billion rupees to the turnover, with the stock appreciating by 5.88% to close at 46.80 rupees.
In a separate development, Senkadagala Finance announced a restructuring of their board of directors, appointing Keshav Balasuriya as Chief Executive Officer. Despite these changes, the stock closed down by 83.75 rupees at 1,005.
(Colombo/Jan29/2026)
