The Colombo Stock Exchange recorded marginal gains on Tuesday amid subdued trading activity, while broader economic indicators reveal tourism revenue challenges and currency strengthening.
Sri Lanka's stock market traded slightly higher on Tuesday, with the benchmark All Share Price Index rising 2.59 points to 21,347.36, representing a gain of just 0.01 percent. The more actively traded S&P SL20 index performed marginally better, advancing 0.09 percent or 5.16 points to 6,014.56. Trading activity remained modest, with total turnover reaching 89.95 million rupees, with capital goods accounting for the largest share at 29.94 million rupees.
Among listed companies, Commercial Bank of Ceylon led gainers with a 0.62 percent increase to 203.25 rupees, while property developer RIL Property rose 2.93 percent. Conversely, Dialog Axiata declined 0.85 percent and Cargills (Ceylon) fell 0.11 percent. Resus Energy shares dropped 1.16 percent following the company's notification to the exchange of minor adjustments to its Green Bond Issue 2025 allocation, though the overall financing amounts for solar power projects remained unchanged.
On the currency front, the rupee strengthened to 328.45/70 against the US dollar on Tuesday, compared to 329.00/10 the previous day. Bond yields declined ahead of scheduled auctions, with most medium and longer-dated bonds trading lower than their previous closing levels. These financial market movements come against a backdrop of challenging economic conditions, particularly in the tourism sector, which recorded its lowest monthly revenue in 32 months during July, falling 10.4 percent year-on-year to US$285.5 million.
