The Colombo Stock Exchange ended Friday’s session in negative territory, reversing early gains as delays surrounding the formal signing of the peace agreement between the United States and Iran dampened investor sentiment. The market opened on a positive note, with the All Share Price Index (ASPI) climbing 46 points to its intraday high. However, optimism faded as the session progressed, with investors turning cautious amid uncertainty over the timing of the peace accord, triggering profit-taking and mild panic selling.

Despite subdued market activity, both benchmark indices closed lower. The ASPI declined by 74.83 points, or 0.33%, to close at 22,361.31, while the S&P SL20 Index fell 11.48 points, or 0.18%, to 6,215.30. Market turnover amounted to LKR 1.87 Bn, with a total share volume of 75.78 Mn shares, reflecting relatively low participation levels as investors remained on the sidelines awaiting clearer geopolitical signals.The Capital Goods sector emerged as the largest contributor to market turnover, generating LKR 0.45 Bn with 14.75 Mn shares traded. HHL.N dominated sector activity, accounting for LKR 0.28 Bn in turnover with 8.65 Mn shares changing hands. Crossing transactions contributed LKR 0.17 Bn, representing 9% of total market turnover, with the largest crossing recorded in NDB.N amounting to LKR 0.08 Bn involving 0.79 Mn shares.