Sri Lanka stocks dip in mid-morning trade

Reports on Colombo Stock Exchange trading in mid-October 2026 describe a changing direction in share prices. EconomyNext said the ASPI closed Thursday, October 15, 175.09 points higher at 19,971.15, a rise of 0.88%. The S&P SL20 advanced 0.40% to 5,699.02.

Carson Cumberbatch rose 6.79% and Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka gained 1.80% on Thursday, with Commercial Bank of Ceylon, LOLC Holdings and LOLC Finance also among the positive contributors. Decliners included Singer, Cargills, Vidullanka, Vallibel Finance and Ceylon Cold Stores. Turnover was Rs. 1.5 billion, led by the Food, Beverage & Tobacco group with Rs. 377.58 million.

The same EconomyNext report carried company announcements. Commercial Credit and Finance said it had secured a central-bank-approved, unsecured subordinated loan facility of Rs. 1 billion for five years to support its Tier II capital and meet capital adequacy requirements. Siyapatha Finance said deputy chairman Rushanka Silva would become chairman on October 30, succeeding Palavinnege Sumith Cumaranatunga, who was due to retire on October 29 after nine years. The company also named independent non-executive director Widanalage Deshal Praveen de Mel senior independent director because Silva is a non-independent director.

For Friday, October 16, EconomyNext reported the market opened higher: the ASPI was up 119.48 points, or 0.60%, at 20,090.63, and the S&P SL20 gained 0.63% to 5,735.11. Dialog Axiata, Commercial Bank, Sri Lanka Telecom and Sampath Bank were among the positive contributors; Distilleries, Ambeon Holdings, Tokyo Cement, Singer and Ceylon Tobacco were among the negative contributors. Turnover was reported at Rs. 170.32 million, with capital goods accounting for Rs. 36.64 million.

Daily Mirror described other sessions with both indices closing lower. It attributed one decline to falls in Dialog Axiata, Carson Cumberbatch and Distilleries, and reported turnover above Rs. 1.9 billion alongside participation by high-net-worth and institutional investors. In two other reports, it cited losses including Dialog Axiata, Commercial Bank and Hatton National Bank, and Hemas Holdings, LOLC Holdings and Cargills; the reported turnover exceeded Rs. 1.1 billion and Rs. 1.2 billion respectively. EconomyNext separately reported an ASPI decline of 0.14% in a session with Rs. 318.20 million in turnover, and said Hemas Holdings, Ceylon Cold Stores, Dialog Axiata, Vallibel One and Ambeon were positive contributors in mid-morning trading.

Written automatically by AI from the outlets’ own reports, and not reviewed by an editor. It can be wrong — the original report is the authority.