US tariff pause propels Colombo stock market

Value of CSE soars by Rs. 221 b with ASPI rising by 4.7% and S&P SL20 by 6.7% on Rs. 7 b turnover

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THE 90-day suspension of the new high reciprocal tariff by the United States propelled the Colombo stock market boosting its value by over Rs. 200 billion as investors reverted to buying mode.

The benchmark ASPI gained by 4.74% or by over 700 points and the active S&P SL20 by 6.7%.

Turnover was Rs. 7 billion involving 212.2 million shares. Turnover was dominated Sampath Bank (Rs. 1.1 billion), JKH (Rs. 952.5 million), Commercial Bank (Rs. 777 million), HNB (Rs. 649 million), and RIL Property (Rs. 164 million).

The market capitalisation at Rs. 5.549 trillion, well above Rs. 5.253 trillion on Monday when jitters over the new tariff regime in the US, saw over Rs. 227 billion in value wiped off at the CSE and by nearly Rs. 500 billion since 2 April.

However, the ASPI and S&P SL20 still remains negative Year to Date at 2.28% and 4.5% respectively. First Capital said the bourse bounced back from Wednesday's dip with a sharp surge during the first 10 minutes of trading, followed by slight volatility during the rest of the day.