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Global Markets | Feb 27, 2026
How IMF Programs Influence Equity Market Recoveries
IMF-supported programs often catalyze equity market recoveries through structural reforms that enhance economic stability and investor confidence. This analysis examines key historical cases, including Turkey, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka, where reforms led to improved market performance. While benefits include growth acceleration, challenges like inequality persist, requiring balanced implementation.
Auto | Feb 26, 2026
Mercedes-AMG GT3: Verstappen Racing's Smart Alliance
Verstappen Racing's multi-year tie-up with Mercedes-AMG, confirmed December 24, 2025, shifts the team to the proven GT3 Evo platform. The deal elevates the outfit to official Mercedes-AMG Performance Team status and pairs it with experienced drivers and 2 Seas Motorsport. This opinion argues the alliance delivers clear competitive and commercial upside for both sides in a crowded GT market.
Markets | Feb 26, 2026
Graph Neural Networks Reveal FPI Market Attractiveness
Foreign portfolio investors seek markets with minimal barriers to capital movement, reliable exchange rates, undervalued equities and visible policy progress. Sri Lanka illustrates the shift: after its 2022 default, IMF-backed reforms lifted reserves above USD 6 billion by late 2025 and upgraded credit ratings. Graph neural networks now help analysts map how these signals interact across global networks to forecast inflows. The case shows both progress and remaining tests for sustained appeal.
Market Pulse | Feb 26, 2026
CSE Posts Modest Gains on Solid Breadth as Capital Goods Dominate Flows
Colombo's equities closed the February 26, 2026 session with quiet conviction. The benchmark ASPI index advanced 0.34% to 23,783.24 while the more concentrated SPSL20 added 0.42% to close at 6,713.27. Participation was encouragingly broad: 142 stocks advanced against 97 decliners and 48 unchanged, producing a net bread
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Market Pulse | Feb 25, 2026
CSE Edges Higher in Concentrated Session as Financials Lead Turnover
Colombo's equities market navigated a mixed session on February 25, 2026, closing with the All Share Price Index (ASPI) at 23,703.10, marking a marginal advance of 0.05 percent. The S&P SL20 index followed suit, rising 0.06 percent to close at 6,685.27. Aggregate turnover amounted to LKR 4.02 billion on a volume of 133
Finance | Feb 25, 2026
SME Finance: Hidden Driver of Market Growth and Capital Allocation
Small and medium-sized enterprises represent 90 percent of businesses worldwide yet face a persistent credit shortfall that limits broader economic momentum. The March 2025 IFC-World Bank MSME Finance Gap Report pegs the formal gap at US$5.7 trillion across 119 emerging markets. Closing even part of this shortfall would redirect capital toward productive uses, lift productivity, and support job creation at scale. Recent policy steps in markets like Sri Lanka illustrate both the obstacles and the pathways forward.
Markets | Feb 25, 2026
M&A Trends in 2026: Megadeals Grow, But Volume Stalls
Global M&A reached roughly $4.7 trillion in announced value for 2025, a 43 percent jump from the prior year, fueled almost entirely by megadeals. Deal volumes stayed flat as smaller and mid-market transactions failed to recover. This pattern reveals selective growth where well-capitalized players pursue transformative assets, especially in AI-related fields, setting a K-shaped tone for markets in 2026.
Global Markets | Feb 24, 2026
AI Market Correction: Bubble Burst or Healthy Reset?
AI-related stocks drove the bulk of global equity gains between 2022 and mid-2025, but the final quarter of 2025 and early 2026 brought sharp corrections as valuation multiples stretched to dot-com-era extremes and corporate earnings underwhelmed. The debate now centres on whether the pullback is a cyclical reset — healthy friction in a maturing technology wave — or the early phase of a deeper structural bust. Evidence from earnings reports, venture capital flows, and productivity studies points to a market in transition, not collapse, though tail risks remain elevated.
Market Pulse | Feb 24, 2026
Selective Resilience Masks Weak Breadth on the CSE
Sri Lanka’s equity market delivered a superficially modest pullback on February 24, with the ASPI easing 0.39% to 23,690.62 while the S&P SL20 fell a sharper 0.71%. On the surface, this was a contained session. Beneath it, however, the internal picture was more fragile: decliners outpaced advancers by nearly two to one
Market Pulse | Feb 23, 2026
Indices Edge Higher Despite Weak Breadth and Selective Liquidity
Sri Lanka equities closed marginally higher, with the ASPI up 0.04% and the S&P SL20 gaining 0.11%, but the advance masked fragile internal participation. Decliners outnumbered advancers 133 to 117, leaving breadth negative and the advance-decline ratio at 0.88. Total turnover reached LKR 2.56 billion, supported by con
Markets | Feb 23, 2026
CSE Sector Breakdown: Banking, Conglomerates & Manufacturing
Banking and finance command nearly 44% of CSE market capitalization, far outpacing their modest slice of GDP. Diversified conglomerates and listed manufacturers bridge broader services and industrial activity, delivering equity performance that often amplifies real-economy trends. As of early 2026, with total market cap near LKR 8.4 trillion, these three areas explain why CSE movements frequently preview or lag shifts in credit growth, tourism rebound, and export momentum. This breakdown maps the weights, linkages, and practical signals for policy-aware readers.
Market report | Feb 23, 2026
Sri Lanka vs Vietnam, Bangladesh, Pakistan: Frontier Markets Compared
Sri Lanka’s recovering equity market trades alongside low-valuation peers in Bangladesh and Pakistan, while Vietnam offers stronger growth at a modest premium. Latest World Bank and IMF data show Vietnam leading GDP expansion at 6.3% projected for 2026, Sri Lanka at 3.5%, Bangladesh near 4.6%, and Pakistan around 3.0%. Credit ratings range from Vietnam’s BB+ to Sri Lanka and Pakistan’s Caa1 levels. This neutral comparison highlights structural trade-offs for diversified frontier exposure.