Fitch upgraded Sri Lanka's Long-Term Issuer Default Rating to B- from CCC+ with a Stable outlook, and the Colombo Stock Exchange's ASPI rose 0.36% to 21,054.01 on Tuesday. Top positive contributors were Access Engineering, Overseas Realty, Dialog Axiata and Hatton National Bank, while Kotmale, Namunukula Plantations, Sri Lanka Telecom, CDB and John Keells were among the decliners.
Colombo Stock Exchange closed down as the ASPI fell 0.58% to 21,139.31, with market turnover at 1.63 billion rupees. Food, Beverage & Tobacco led turnover at 782.3 million rupees; notable movers included Namunukula, Pan Asia Bank and Ceylon Cold Stores (up) and John Keells, Melstacorp, RIL Property and Cargills (down); Hunas Holdings entered a partnership with Tokyo-based CCH Inc for its real estate and hospitality businesses effective Sept 14.
Colombo Stock Exchange edged lower as the ASPI slipped 0.07% (down 15.72 pts) to 21,246.41 while the S&P SL20 was flat at 5,976.82. Top movers included Namunukula (+12.37%), Co-operative Insurance (+3.03%) and HNB (+0.20%); Printcare fell 5% after a board-recommended rights issue and Asia Asset Finance listed converted shares.
Available evidence finds Sri Lanka's oil palm (≈10,400 ha, established on degraded/marginal low-country land, not via forest conversion) does not inherently cause greater soil degradation or erosion than tea, rubber or coconut when good management and organic-matter recycling are applied.
CMA Sri Lanka launched national Cost Accounting Standards to strengthen costing, control and reporting across large and medium public and private institutions; the standards prioritize sectors including power, telecom, manufacturing, drugs and agricultural/tea exporters to improve efficiency, pricing transparency and competitiveness.
Colombo Stock Exchange closed higher Monday with the ASPI up 0.65% at 22,695.00 and turnover of 4.81 billion rupees, driven by buying in banking counters. Top contributors included NDB, Dialog, Melstacorp and Colombo Dockyard, while Ceylinco Insurance and Windforce were among decliners.
Colombo Stock Exchange ASPI fell 0.37% to 22,552.24 midday, with plantations (Watawala, Sunshine, Namunukula among others) leading gains while John Keells, Sampath and Commercial Bank weighed on the index. Market turnover was Rs2bn; Abans Finance completed a debenture issue to raise Rs1.33bn.
Watawala Plantations and regional plantation companies are preparing to expand palm oil cultivation if the seven-year ban is lifted after a Plantations Ministry expert committee found no basis for the environmental or health concerns. Industry says private investors had committed about Rs.500m to expand 8,000 ha before the ban.