“Bit of selling pressure with the continuous closure of the Strait of Hormuz,” Dimantha Matthew, Chief Research and Strategy Officer at First Capital Holdings said. “Bargain hunting was happening but it was not sufficient to push market towards the positive end,” Matthews added. Bukit Darah (down 5.38 percent at 946 rupees), Ceylon Beverage Holdings (down 5.93 percent at 2,718.75 rupees), Lion Brewery (Ceylon) (down 4.04 percent at 1,752.50 rupees) and R I L Property (down 3.11 percent at 28 rupees) were top negative contributors to the ASPI.

Nawaloka Hospitals (up 8.33 percent at 15.60 rupees), Ceylon Cold Stores (up 2.85 percent at 117.25 rupees) and Commercial Bank (up 0.48 percent at Rs.210 rupees) were top positive contributors. Market turnover was 2.82 billion rupees. Food, Beverage & Tobacco Industry Group led turnover with 566 million rupees.

Crossings were recorded in Softlogic Capital at 1.25 million shares, Dialog Axiata at 1.2 million shares, Access Engineering at 1.1 million shares, Overseas Realty (Ceylon) at 500,000 shares, Ceylon Cold Stores at 1,180,800 shares and Commercial Bank at 100,000 shares. In the region, India’s Nifty50 was up 0.91 percent at 24,157.05 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.95 percent at 25,915.20.(Colombo/April23/2026)