The Colombo Stock Exchange reversed Monday’s marginal gains on Tuesday, 1 September 2026, with both benchmark indices closing lower as selling pressure strengthened during the latter part of the session.

The All Share Price Index declined by 20.38 points, or 0.10%, to close at 21,318.31, while the S&P Sri Lanka 20 Index fell by 23.23 points, or 0.39%, to end the session at 5,986.45.The ASPI opened firmly and moved close to the 21,390 level during early trading before gradually losing momentum. Several intraday recovery attempts failed to sustain the early strength, and selling pressure intensified towards the close. The S&P SL20 followed a similar pattern, briefly moving above the 6,010 level before trending lower.

Total market turnover reached LKR 2.32 billion, with approximately 97.45 million shares changing hands during the session.The Capital Goods sector dominated market activity, generating approximately LKR 719.34 million in turnover from 33.31 million shares. John Keells Holdings accounted for the majority of sector activity, recording approximately LKR 564.72 million in turnover.

Crossing transactions contributed approximately LKR 524.65 million, representing around 23% of total equity turnover. John Keells Holdings dominated crossing activity with multiple transactions totaling approximately LKR 407.93 million, including a 10.00 million share block executed at LKR 19.70 and valued at LKR 197.00 million. Other notable crossings were recorded in WATA.N, SAMP.N, TAFL.N and CCS.N.Foreign investors turned net sellers during the session, recording a sizeable net foreign outflow of LKR 612.54 million.Market breadth remained marginally positive despite the decline in both benchmark indices, with 106 securities advancing against 104 decliners, resulting in an advance-to-decline ratio of 1.02. This indicated relatively balanced participation across the broader market.Browns Investments was the strongest positive contributor to the ASPI, adding 10.87 points to the index. Carson Cumberbatch, Vallibel One, SMB Finance non-voting and Citizens Development Business Finance also supported the market.

John Keells Holdings recorded the largest negative contribution, reducing the ASPI by 22.14 points. Lion Brewery, DFCC Bank, Dialog Axiata and Melstacorp also weighed on the index.Among notable trades, John Keells Holdings recorded the highest individual counter turnover at approximately LKR 564.72 million, followed by Dialog Axiata with LKR 245.20 million and Ceylon Cold Stores with LKR 156.09 million.Overall, the session reflected renewed selling pressure in index-heavy counters, particularly John Keells Holdings, which weighed heavily on both benchmark indices. However, marginally positive market breadth suggested that weakness was not broad-based across the entire market.