Stock market ends at over 5-month high; rupee flat

REUTERS: Shares rose for a fourth straight session to hit their highest close in over five months on Friday, led by a rally in beverage and banking stocks along with healthy purchases by domestic investors. The rupee ended flat as inward remittances offset importer dollar demand. 

The country's benchmark stock index ended 1.35% up at 5,872.89, its highest close since 20 February. 

The bourse rose 2.76% during the week. It is still down about 4.26% so far this year. 

The country's stock market had a turnover of Rs. 1.2 billion ($6.81 million), nearly twice of this year's daily average of about Rs. 615.5 million so far. 

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Last year's daily average came in at Rs. 834 million. 

Foreign investors sold a net Rs. 187.4 million worth of shares on Friday; the year-to-date net buying stood at Rs. 1.2 billion, index data showed. 

Shares of Ceylon Cold Stores PLC jumped 19.1%, the country's leading fixed line telephone operator Sri Lanka Telecom PLC rose 11.5%, Hatton National Bank PLC climbed 7.5%, and Nestle Lanka PLC ended 4% higher. 

Meanwhile, the currency ended flat at 176.15/25 per dollar. 

The rupee fell 0.23% during the week but is up 3.66% so far this year. 

The Central Bank left key interest rates unchanged on 11 July as expected, after cutting them in May to support the economy as tourism and investment plummeted in the wake of deadly suicide bombings in April. 

Foreign investors bought a net Rs. 1.22 billion worth of government securities in the week ended 17 July, but the market has seen a year-to-date net foreign outflow to Rs. 18.46 billion, the Central Bank data showed.