News & market updates

Colombo Stock Exchange ASPI rose 1.65% (335.95 pts) to 20,754.04, led by capital goods and banking. Colombo Dockyard jumped 8.74% and Access Engineering rose 4.46%; Ambeon Holdings announced a 1-for-4 share subdivision and Ceylon Land & Equity reported transfer of 241m rights.

Colombo Stock Exchange has lost over Rs. 1.1 trillion in value since the Middle East war began, with the ASPI down 2.49% (521.17 pts) to 20,418.09 yesterday. Panic selling hit retail investors, with COMB, HAYL, DOCK, NDB and AEL among 227 decliners and net foreign selling of Rs.104.7m.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed down 2.41% as investors feared a fuel shortage, with the ASPI down 505.48 points to 20,433.78 and the S&P SL20 down 1.94% to 5,770.59. Top negative contributors were Commercial Bank (193, down 5.50), Hayleys (205, down 8.50) and Colombo Dockyard (108.75, down 10.75).

Colombo Stock Exchange opened higher on Tuesday with the ASPI up 0.50% (105.68 pts) at 21,044.94 fifteen minutes after the open and turnover of Rs 421 million. Top positive contributors were Melstacorp, Sampath Bank and Colombo Dockyard.

Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd has secured majority control of Colombo Dockyard PLC by increasing its holding to 201,565,500 shares (about 51%) after a mandatory offer that accepted 36,649,271 shares. Colombo Dockyard's share price closed down Rs.2.25 to Rs.127.75.

Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders acquired 201,565,500 shares (51.00% stake) in Colombo Dockyard PLC. The mandatory offer at Rs40 expired with no takers; Mazagon bought 9.27% from Onomichi and appointed three directors to the board.

ASPI fell 0.12% to 22,351.55 as profit-taking dragged the Colombo market, with declines in MELS, DOCK, CARS, SPEN and LLUB; market turnover was over Rs.4.3bn and foreign investors were net sellers of Rs.21.36m.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed down as the All Share Price Index fell 0.14% to 22,346.09; turnover was Rs4.31 million with diversified financials contributing over Rs1 billion. Central Finance rose to Rs250.50, while Melstacorp, Colombo Dockyard and Carson Cumberbatch were among the top decliners.

The ASPI plunged 3.51% to 21,904.14 as panic selling and a >25% surge in crude to about $115/bbl on Middle East conflict hit the CSE; banking and blue-chip stocks (Commercial Bank, HNB, JKH, Sampath, C T Holdings) led declines while Lanka IOC rose.

The CSE fell, with the ASPI down 4.34% (1,032.15 points) for the week as index-heavy banking and diversified holdings stocks dragged the market. Foreign investors were net sellers (week net outflow Rs.791.2m); large declines came from JKH, HNB and SAMP while ACL, CINS and RAL saw heavy off‑board turnover.

The ASPI rose 0.60% (134.03 pts) to 22,577.41 on bargain hunting after a prior session plunge, with turnover ~Rs.4.7bn and foreign net outflow of Rs.95.1m. Capital goods led turnover (Rs.1.5bn) while banking and diversified financials also drove gains.

Colombo Stock Exchange midday: ASPI rose 1.41% (317.14 pts) to 22,760.52 and S&P SL20 gained 1.29% to 6,394.97. Top contributors were Commercial Bank (+2.74% at Rs215.75), Sampath Bank (+2.60% at Rs158.00) and Hayleys (+2.82% at Rs236.75); Colombo Dockyard reported a Rs1.93bn loss for the Dec-2025 quarter (stock at Rs142.00).

Colombo market closed marginally higher: ASPI +0.05% (12.48 pts) at 23,703.10 and S&P SL20 +0.06% at 6,685.27 on turnover >Rs.4bn. Diversified financials, capital goods and banking led activity with CDB, DIAL, PLR, JKH and DOCK as key positive contributors while foreigners were net sellers (Rs.72m; YTD outflow Rs.15.9bn).

Colombo Dockyard (DOCK.N0000) has appointed Capt. (Retd.) Jagmohan, Biju George and Ruchir Agrawal as Non-Executive/Non-Independent Directors after Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders acquired a majority stake; Jagmohan will serve as Chairman.

Colombo Dockyard (DOCK.N0000) appointed Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders nominees Capt. Jagmohan, Biju George and Ruchir Agrawal to its board, and nominated MD Thimira S. Godakumbura as an MDL representative, effective 24 February. The appointments were approved after review by the Nomination and Governance Committee and the appointees held no Colombo Dockyard shares as of the date of appointment.

Colombo bourse dipped as the ASPI fell 0.21% to 23,870.07 despite net foreign inflows of Rs.37 million after 22 days of outflows. Capital goods led turnover; John Keells and Hayleys rose while Sampath, Colombo Dockyard, Dialog, DFCC and Commercial Bank were among the negative contributors.

ASPI rose 0.80% (190.27 pts) to 23,900.11 and the S&P SL20 gained 1.38% to 6,710.33, led by strength in large-cap banking stocks. Market turnover was over Rs.5.6bn, foreign investors were net sellers of Rs.167.6m, with HNB, SAMP, COMB, DOCK and NDB among top positive contributors.

ASPI closed down 0.01% at 23,652.51 with turnover of LKR 4.8bn and net foreign outflow of LKR 42.7m. Banks led turnover (30%), food & beverage and capital goods together contributed 31%; top negatives were RICH, CFIN, JKH, RIL and AEL, while RAL saw net foreign buying and crossings were led by COCO, COMB and DOCK.

The Colombo Stock Exchange closed down for a second session as the ASPI fell 0.43% (103.17 pts) to 23,651.09 with turnover over Rs.3.54bn and foreign net selling of Rs.465.9mn. Top negatives included SFCL, CARG, CFIN and DOCK, while RAL and EMER were among gainers.

Colombo market opened in red as the ASPI fell 0.20% to 23,754.26 amid foreign net selling of Rs. 1.4 billion. Top negatives were JKH, SFCL, DOCK, TKYO and CARG, while LMF led food & beverage turnover and gained 9.08%.

Sri Lanka Business Forum 2026 in Paris promoted government reforms to strengthen investor confidence and export-led growth. The forum highlighted Colombo Dockyard's collaboration with Orange Marine, noting the 2023-built cable vessel 'Sophie Germain' and two additional vessels scheduled for delivery in 2028 and 2029.

Colombo stock market ended the week up as the ASPI rose 0.14% to 23,801.96 while year-to-date net foreign selling approached Rs. 11.8 billion. Turnover was nearly Rs. 9.1 billion, led by banks and large crossings (notably Commercial Bank) with gains in ACME, JKH, Sampath, HNB, KZOO, Colombo Dockyard and Teejay.

Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders announced a Mandatory Offer to acquire the remaining 58.27% of Colombo Dockyard at Rs.40 per share. Mazagon was allotted 164,916,229 shares (41.73%) after the rights issue, the MO is unconditional and the Offer Document will be sent within 35 days.