CSE Weekly Market Report for the week ended 26th Feb 2010.

Colombo All Share Index crossed the 3800 mark during the week to close at 3807.86, up 39.05 points while Milanka Index closed the week 11.69 points higher at 4354.73. Total equity turnover was amounted to 4.75 billion rupees.

Top five gainers for the week. (%)

Company                                Close (Rs.)       Change(Rs.)    Change (%)

DIMO                                      462.25             155.25                50.57

COLONIAL MTR                      80.00                  26.00               48.15          

SHAW WALLACE                     184.00                54.00               41.54

TEA SERVICES                          530.00               130.00             32.50

UNION CHEMICALS                 250.00                 50.25             25.16

Top five losers for the week. (%)

Company                                Close (Rs.)       Change(Rs.)    Change (%)

LANKA ASHOK                         1,075.00         (270.00)             (20.07)

SUNSHINE HOLDING                   702.00         (118.00)            (14.39)

ARPICO                                          61.25             (7.25)           (10.58)

BERUWELA WALKINN                   60.00            (7.00)             10.45)

SEYLAN MERCHANT [X]                  1.00            (0.10)              (9.09)

Despite overall better cooperate results for the quarter ended 31 Dec 2009; market activity was declined mainly due to other factors. Currently investors were focusing on low valued stocks as most of blue chip stocks already reached their fair value.     

Ceylon Tea Brokers IPO – Basis of Allocation.

Applicants eligible for preferential allotment will be allotted 4,577,100 shares.

 Applicants eligible for non preferential allotment will be allotted 9,422,900 shares.

Preferential Allocation

Applications up to 30,000 shares – Allotted in full.

30,001 to 1,000,000 shares - 30,000 shares + 25% shares applied for over & above 30,000 shares.

Over 1,000,000 shares –        30,000 shares + 25% of shares applied for between 30,000 – 1,000,000 which

        is equivalent to 242,500 shares + 16.29% shares applied for over & above  

        1,000,000 shares.

Non Preferential Allocation

Applications for 5,000 shares – 1000 shares.

Applications for above 5,000 shares – 1000 shares + 5.08% shares applied for over & above5,000 shares.

All allocations will be rounded to nearest 100 shares.

Source – Colombo Stock Exchange official website (cse.lk)

Colombo Stocks fluctuating within narrow range.

CSE All Share Index closed 5.11 points higher at 3775.51 while more Milanka index which is representing most liquid 25 stocks closed 16.78 points to end the day at 4331.98. Turnover was healthy at 1.30 billion rupees.

Colombo stocks now fully adjusted for December 2009 corporate results & waiting for fresh news to find a clear direction. At this point investors should buy fundamentally strong undervalued stocks rather than just speculating.

Heavily traded stocks for the day.

Company                            No of Shares Traded

Nawaloka Hospitals                         6,295,300.

Seylan Bank (N/V)                           4,248,400.

Janashakthi Insurance                   2,272,200.

GRAN                                                    2,004,200.

Madulsima Plantation                    1,373,500.

Harishchandra Mills Plc the one of the oldest listed company from south of the country gained 100 rupees to close at Rs 975.00 but only for mere 200 shares. Aitken Spence Plc closed at Rs 1301.00, up 31.00 rupees. Ceylinco Insurance Plc managed to close at Rs 260.00, up twelve rupees. Chevron Lubricant Lanka Plc was up by 2.75 to close at Rs 162.00 while alcohol producer Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka Plc closed two rupees higher at Rs 117.00.

Alliance Finance Company Plc lost Rs 66.00 to close at Rs 419.00. Ceylon Guardian Investments Trust Plc was down by nineteen rupees to close at Rs 450.00. Index heavy, fixed line telecom service provider Sri Lanka Telecom Plc lost 50 cents to close at Rs 39.50 while cellular service provider Dialog Telekom closed flat at Rs 7.00.

Foreign investors were net sellers with Rs 46.2 million purchases & Rs 174.6 million in sales.     

Despite early gains CSE closed marginally lower.

Colombo All Share Index closed 3.15 points lower at 3770.40 while Milanka Price Index lost 16.31 points to close at 4315.20.  Toda’s total equity turnover was amounted to 799.6 million rupees.

Illiquid Watapota Investments Plc was up by 100 rupees to close at Rs 1000.00 on mere 100 shares. Ceylon Tea Services Plc gained Rs 82.75 to close at Rs 530.00. Ceylon Cold Stores Plc the markers of Elephant Brand soft drinks closed at Rs 183, up eighteen rupees. AVIVA NDB Insurance Plc (Formally Eagle Insurance Plc) closed the day 10.25 higher at Rs 220.00. Commercial Bank of Ceylon Plc gained four rupees to end the day at Rs 197.75.

Aitken Spence Plc lost Rs 29.75 on 200 shares to close at Rs 1270.00. Ceylon Leather Products Plc the makers of DI brand footwear closed 4.75 lower at Rs 87.00. Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka lost two rupees to close at Rs 115.00. Environmental Resources Investments Plc which was continuously gained in past few days lost 5.75 to close at Rs 233.50.

Investors are adjusting their portfolios by selling overvalued stocks while buying undervalued midcap stocks. Foreigners were net sellers with Rs 31.8 million purchases & Rs 57.3 million sales.

Weekly Market Report for the week ended 19th Feb 2010.

Market (ASI) gained 58.84 points for the entire week to close at 3768.81. Total equity turnover stood at Rs 6.87 billion compared to Rs 9.51 billion in previous week.  There was Rs 443 million foreign out flow recorded during the week.

Top 5 gainers for the week. (%)

Fort Land gained 33.00 rupees (+94.29%) to close at Rs 68.00.

Singalanka was up by Rs 44.00 (+45.83%) to close at Rs 140.00.

E B Creasy closed at Rs 330.00, up Rs 102.00 (+44.74%).

Central Industries was up by Rs 57.25 (+33.14%) to close at Rs 230.00.

MTD Walkers was up by Rs 107.25 (+32.40%) to end the week at Rs 438.25.

Top 5 losers for the week. (%).

First Capital (CFVF) lost 31.00 rupees (-94.29%) to close at Rs 62.00.

Eastern Merchant lost 69.00 rupees (-31.36%) to close the week at Rs 151.00.

Tea Services was down by Rs 49.75 (-11.06%) to close the week at Rs 400.00.

People’s Fin lost Rs 4.25 (-10.49%) to close at Rs 36.25.

Udapussellawa Plantation lost 3.25 (-9.63%) to close at Rs 30.50.

The Ceylon Tea Brokers IPO oversubscribed more than 10 times on its opening day. As majority of December quarter earnings are better than expected it is likely that market will stabilize at current levels.

Huge gains in selected stocks pushed the Colombo indices higher.

Speculators chased on few stocks such as Environmental Resources Investments Plc (GREG) & MTD Walkers Plc. ASI was up by 30.08 to close at 3721.12 while MPI closed at 4269.25, up 75.5 points. Turnover was 1.69 billion rupees.

High gainers for the day.

1.       Environmental Resources Investments Plc closed at Rs 246.00, up Rs 52.25.

2.       MTD Walkers Plc closed at Rs 407.50, up 92.50.

3.       Aitken Spence Plc was up by twenty rupees to end the day at Rs 1250.00.

4.       Touchwood Investment Plc closed 13.75 higher at Rs 132.50.

5.       Sampath Bank was up by Rs 8.00 to close at Rs 220.25

Top five losers for the day.

1.       Ceylon Tea Services Plc lost 49.75 to close at Rs 400.00.

2.       Sunshine Holdings Plc was down by Rs 35.00 to close at Rs 800.00.

3.       Kandy Hotels Company (1938) Plc closed at Rs 99.25, down 10.75.

4.       Ceylon Guardian Investment Trust Plc was down by six rupees to close at Rs 458.00.

5.       First Capital Holdings Plc lost 5.75 to close the day at Rs 79.25.

 Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka Plc closed 1.25 higher at Rs 117.00 & over 1.5 million shares traded during the day.  Trades in GREG ordinary shares have contributed Rs 275.4 million for today’s total equity turnover.

Foreign sales exceeded the purchases by Rs 41.8 million.

CSE dipped but Ceylon Tea Brokers IPO oversubscribed.

Colombo Stocks continue to fall after reaching all time high in last week. ASI lost 26.47 points to close at 2691.04 while more liquid Milanka closed at 4193.75, lost 2.09 points. Turnover recorded for the day was 639.6 million rupees. The Registrars to the Ceylon Tea Brokers IPO, P W Coperate Secretarial (Pvt) Ltd has informed the oversubscription of said IPO.   

Despite massive loss (Rs 12 billion +) that announced by Dialog Telekom yesterday, it was closed 25 cents higher at Rs 7.00. Sri Lanka Telecom lost 1.25 to close at Rs 40.25.

The Bukit Darah Plc was down by Rs 199.00 to close at Rs 3300.50 while rarely traded company The Autodrome Plc lost fifty rupees to end the day at Rs 300.00. Ceylon Investment Plc lost 14.75 to close at Rs 260.00. Ceylon Tobacco Company Plc a subsidiary of multinational BAT group closed at Rs 236.00, down eight rupees.

Convenience Foods (Lanka) Plc, manufacturers of Soya Food product closed at Rs 126.75, up seven rupees.  Ceylinco Insurance Plc was up by 5.75 to close the day at Rs 240.00.

Foreigners were net sellers today with Rs 30.5 million purchases & Rs 80.4 million sales.

Colombo shares closed on a mixed note.

Trading at CSE started higher but after volatile trading it was closed with mixed results. ASI closed 7.54 higher at 3717.51 while MPI lost 20.05 points to close at 4195.84. Turnover was 1.20 billion rupees boosted by heavy trading in Kshatriya Holdings (13,038,900 shares) & Nation Trust Bank.

 Dialog Telekom has reported Rs 12.2 billion loss for the year ended 31^st December 2009. Probably the biggest ever loss reported in the history by listed companies in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s Telekom sector is experiencing a tariff war after Indian mobile operator (Airtel) entering to local telecom market. Dialog closed unchanged at Rs 6.75.

Distilleries Group (DIST) net profit for the 9 month ended 31^st Dec 2009 fell 45.66% to Rs 2.07 billion rupees mainly due to loss of control in Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC) on Supreme Court judgment in last year. According to Distilleries group they are still not in a position to finalize the accounting outcome of above ruling as Treasury is still not determined amount they have to pay back on cancelled privatization. Distilleries closed 25 cents higher at Rs 116.00.

Aitken Spence Plc lost Rs 109.00 on 100 shares to close at Rs 1230.00 while its Hotel Holding Subsidiary Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings Plc lost 13.50 to close at Rs 390.00.

The Bukit Darah Plc gained by massive Rs 364.00 to close the day at Rs 3499.50. John Keells Holdings Plc was up by Rs 2.75 to close at Rs 165.25.

Foreigners bought stocks valued at Rs 284.8 million & sold stocks worth Rs 263.9 million resulting net inflow.

The market correction begins.

Colombo over heated stocks fell in all most all the sectors. Chances are high to continue the downward trend with rising political tensions. Other thing is when the market drops margin traders come under forced selling to cover their margin limits.  

ASI slipped 49.50 points (-1.31%) & closed at 3724.84 while MPI lost 72.27 points (-1.67%) to close at 4263.53. Total equity turnover was amounted to 1.41 billion rupees.  Out of total traded stocks 133 companies lost their value while only 26 managed to close higher.

Blue Chip John Keells Holdings Plc was down by 3.50 to end the day at Rs 163.75 while forestry company Touchwood investment Plc dipped  16.25 to close at Rs 131.25. Lanka Orix Leasing Co. Plc lost five rupees to close at Rs 174.25. Ceylon Tobacco Company closed nine rupees lower at Rs 250.00.

Ceylon Grain Elevators closed one rupee higher at Rs 17.00 & over 1.4 million shares traded during the day.  Lanka Milk Food Plc a Company controlled by business tycoon Mr Harry Jayawardana closed at Rs 72.25, up 2.25.

After long period of time foreigners became net buyers with Rs 180.8 million purchases & Rs 133.3 million in sales.

Is EToro Forex A Scam?

One financial market that was kept a secret by banks and big business until relatively recently is the forex market. Changes in the law forced this market to open up to private investors, as well as large corporations and banks. Because this market is relatively new as far as private investors are concerned, it is not easily understood. One online platform that has attempted to simplify it so that anyone can invest and profit in forex is eToro. Still many people who have used this platform have lost money and have raised the question, "Is eToro forex a scam?"

Contrary to what some disgruntled investors might say, eToro is completely legitimate and offers an online trading platform designed to make investing in the forex market easier to understand. In order to do this, they offer graphic interfaces that are similar to games or CGI animations that depict what the market is doing in terms of the currencies involved in a given trade. Because these animations do not resemble the technical graphs and trends that many investors expect, they believe this platform to be a scam.

The plain truth is that many investors around the world are using eToro on a daily basis and making money. Even people in Asian countries such as India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Pakistan are generating profitable trades using the eToro platform.

One reviewer claimed that eToro is a scam because he used it to make trades which lost money and made the exact same trades on another platform and made money. This begs the question, was the trades carried out simultaneously or was there a delay on one platform or the other? The forex market is highly fluid and changes can occur so rapidly that a difference in timing of just a few seconds can mean the difference between a profit and a loss.

One thing that eToro does do is offer a practice account that one can use to familiarize himself/herself with trading on the forex market. Some complain that all their trades in the practice account made money while all trades dealing in real money lost money. Again, this comes down to a matter of timing.

It is also possible that there is a disconnect between the practice account and the actual market. After all, the purpose of the practice account is to teach one how to trade, not necessarily to parallel the actual market.

While most platforms require minimum balances in trades of 25 USD or more, eToro introduced accounts that allow one to enter a trade for as little as 2.50 USD in January 2010. This move was made in an effort to help its customers limit their exposure, thus limiting losses on bad trades.

What eToro forex is is an online trading platform in the forex market that is designed to make trading in foreign currencies easy, even for those who have no investing experience whatsoever. The fact is that the forex market represents an opportunity to make huge profits. However, for every trader that makes a profit, someone takes a loss. This is why investors are warned repeatedly not to risk money they cannot afford to lose.

Other related articles on FOREX trading.

Stocks Vs FOREX

eToro FOREX Broker Review.

If you already have trading experience with eToro FOREX Broker (Good or bad) please post it on our FOREX Forum .

Ceylon Tea Brokers Limited – Initial Public offer.

Applications are invited from the public to subscribe for Fourteen Million (14,000,000) new ordinary voting shares at a price of Rupees Two (Rs.2.00) per share under the terms and conditions set out in Prospectus. Minimum subscription per application is 5,000 shares (Rs 10,000). Applications exceeding the minimum subscription should be in multiples of 1,000 shares.

This IPO is relatively small & will be listed on CSE “Diri Savi Board”. Currently Ceylon Tea Brokers Ltd is making profit & has the potential for future growth.  

There are currently eight brokers functioning in the industry & Currently Ceylon Tea Brokers Ltd market share is 6.2%. Their Staff strength consisted of sixty eight employees as at December 31, 2009 (People are one the key success factors in the tea brokering industry).

Considering current Bull Run at Colombo Stock Exchange this issue will oversubscribe on opening day. Ceylon Tea Brokers IPO will open on 16^th February 2010.

Definitely you will not get the total amount if you apply more than 5000 shares but can’t predict the allotment basis.

You can download the Ceylon Tea Brokers IPO prospectus & Application form by visiting cse.lk website.

Recommendation – Subscribe  

Source - Ceylon Tea Brokers IPO prospectus

Colombo stock recovered early losses.

After significant drop in early trading Colombo All Share Index managed to close marginally lower (-4.09 pints) at 3785.28. Turnover stood at 2.23 billion rupees. 

Heavily Traded Stocks.

 Marawila Resorts Plc - 6,938,800 shares traded & closed at Rs 7.75 (+1.50).

Piramal Glass Ceylon Plc – 5,679,000 shares traded & closed unchanged at Rs 2.40.

Seylan Merchant Bank (Nonvoting) – 4,613,700 shares traded & closed at Rs 1.20 (-0.10).

Nawaloka Hospitals – 4,593,000 shares traded & closed at Rs 3.50 down 20 cents.

Touchwood Investments Plc - 2,332,200 shares traded & closed Rs 12.25 higher at Rs 125.25.

Environmental Recourses Investments Plc gained Rs 56.75 to close at Rs 263.75 while Eagle Insurance an AVIVA subsidiary closed 14.50 higher at Rs 219.25. Hayleys Plc was up by four rupees to close at Rs 220.25. Watawala Plantations Plc gained eight rupees to end the day at Rs 168.00.

There were total of 38 gainers & 112 losers for the day.

Ceylon Tobacco Company Plc lost 10.75 to close at Rs 255.00 while Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka Plc lost 25 cents to close at Rs 115.75. The Bukit Darah Plc was down by 50.00 rupees to close at Rs 3050.00.

Foreigners were still on selling side with net outflow of Rs 41.1 million.

Colombo Stocks sky rocketed!

Huge gains in Sri Lanka’s monopolist tobacco producer Ceylon Tobacco Plc caused the indices to reach another all time high. Ceylon Tobacco Company Plc was up by 45.75 (20.80%) to close at Rs 265.75. ASI closed at 3789.37, up 82.65 points & MPI closed at 4373.75, up 104.57 points. Turnover was also impressive at 2.57 billion rupees.

Eagle Insurance Plc a member of international AVIVA group was up by 24.75 to end the day at Rs 204.75 while Environmental Resources Investments Plc closed at Rs 207.00, up 28.00. The Bukit Darah Plc gained 45.00 rupees to close at Rs 3100.00. Rarely traded Watapota Investments Plc was up by 150.00 to close at Rs 1050.00 but only 100 shares traded.

Quality floor tile producer Royal Ceramic Lanka Plc closed at Rs 97.25, up 11.75. The blue chip company Hayleys Plc gained 8.75 to close at Rs 216.25 after they announced better quarterly results.  Asia Capital Plc (ACAP) was up by three rupees to end the day at Rs 13.25. There were 34.16 million shares of ACAP changed hands today.

Still foreigners were net sellers with Rs 587.2 million purchases & Rs 713.7 million in sales. With this continuous foreign outflow I feel there will be market correction in near future. It is advisable to long term investors should wait & see. But there are opportunities for speculators & day Traders.

Higher gains in selected stocks helped the Indices to close positive.

After fluctuating within narrow range All Share Index managed to close 8.92 points higher at 3706.72 while Milanka index closed at 4269.18, up 29.61 points. Turnover was 1.51 billion rupees.

Top 5 percentage gainers.

·         The Fortress Resorts Plc (RHTL) gained 3.25 to end the day at Rs 18.50.

·         Arpico Finance Plc was up by 13.00 rupees to close at Rs 73.00.

·         Environmental Resources Investments Plc (GREG) closed at Rs 179.00, up Rs 30.25.

·         The Bukit Darah Plc gained 54.75 to close at Rs 3055.00.

·         Ceylon Hospitals Plc (Nonvoting) closed 10.50 higher at Rs 70.50.

Heavily traded stocks for the day.

·         Asia Capital Plc traded 34.4 million shares & closed 75 cents higher at Rs 10.25.

·         Seylan Merchant Bank Plc (Nonvoting) traded 20,850,000 shares & closed at Rs 1.30, up 10 cents.

·         Nawaloka Hospitals Plc traded 7,353,600 shares & closed 20 cents higher at Rs 3.30.

·         Dialog Telekom Plc traded 2,129,000 shares & closed unchanged at Rs 6.75.

·         3.8 million Shares of Renuka Agri Foods traded & closed unchanged at Rs 3.40.

Foreigners were net sellers for the day as Rs 408.3 million purchases & Rs 548.7 million sales. If foreign support will not come in big way within next few days there will be inevitable correction in the market as local investors alone can’t drive the market up for long run.