The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) will open tomorrow for the first time since Friday (13th), after being closed for four days due to the Covid-19 outbreak, but trading time is likely to be shortened considerably due to the prevailing situation.
The opening of the market was confirmed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which regulates the CSE, through a press release today (19) morning, which stated that the market would be open on all days apart from those that are declared Public Holidays by the Government due to Covid-19.
Earlier today the Government declared a period of six working days from 20th to 27th of March for employees of the public and private sectors to work from home as a means to limit the spread of Covid-19 by minimizing movement and gathering of the general public during the outbreak. The Government emphasised that this period of six days is not a public holiday and the heads of relevant workplaces are to decide on the spells of work that the employees should cover.
Several stockbrokers had been pushing for the reopening of the CSE over this week, and speaking to The Sunday Morning Business today, Colombo Stockbrokers Association (CSBA) President Kosala Gamage said that a majority of the CSBA members are in favour of reopening the market tomorrow.
However, he added that the CSBA has requested the CSE to curtail the trading time from its current 9.00 am to 2.30 pm shift to a far shorter period between 10.oo am to 12.30 pm in light the prevailing challenges. This request is yet to be formally approved by the CSE.
Late Monday night the Government declared a 3-day public holiday from 17th to 19th March to prevent people gathering and to facilitate social distancing to contain the spread of Covid-19. The decision to keep the market closed on these 3 days was taken by the SEC in consultation with the CSE to support by the Government's efforts.
The 3-day public holiday was announced by the Government amidst growing calls on social media for a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19. The market was closed on Monday as well due to a public holiday declared by the Government on Friday.
The market is widely expected to be in the red tomorrow due to the looming health crisis. Regular trading was halted for 30 minutes on three days last week after the S&P SL20 index, which includes the 20 largest companies by total market capitalisation listed on the CSE, fell by 5% on each day. Global stock markets in US, Europe and Asia have also been battered by the global Covid-19 pandemic over the past few weeks.