Sri Lanka stocks finish down, Bellwether JKH leads market lower

August 1, 2018 (LBO) - The Colombo Stock Exchange finished the trading session lower on the day, with volumes continuing to be light. The major indices both closed lower with the ASPI down.3%, while the S&P SL 20 was down .85% on the session. Foreign selling continued with net foreign sales of approximately US$750,000. Turnover was light at just Rs375mn (US$2.4mn) for the day.  Turnover has continued be be very low, even as companies report their earnings results for the quarter ended June 20, 2018. The market was led lower by leading blue chip John Keells Holdings (JKH), which finished down 2.5% to close at Rs136/share.  The stock now trades significantly lower than its net asset value of Rs144/share.  JKH had a few days prior reported weak quarterly earnings results.  Results for JKH are covered in the below article: http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/john-keells-holdings-jkh-reports-weak-results-62-of-cinnamon-life-residential-space-sold/ Altogether, stocks in Sri Lanka have had a tough year, with the ASPI down near 4% and the S&P SL 20 down 10% for 2018.