Bourse edges up

Tuesday, 15 October 2013 00:00 -     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

REUTERS: Sri Lankan stocks edged up on Monday, led by financials, but the day’s turnover hit a three-month low due to a lack of retail investor participation, dealers said. The main share index edged up 0.09%, or 5.20 points, to 5,952.62, hovering near its three-month high hit on Thursday. “Retail investor participation has not picked up and that has hit the market volume and turnover,” said a stock broker. Retail investors in the past have accounted for around 60% of the market’s daily volume, which hit a five-week low of 20.9 million shares. The day’s turnover slumped to Rs. 233.3 million, the lowest since 17 July and well below this year’s daily average of about Rs. 868 million. Foreign investors were net buyers of Rs. 12.2 million ($ 93,100) worth of shares, extending the net buying so far this year to Rs. 21.48 billion. The banking and finance share index rose 0.74%, led by Ceylinco Insurance PLC which rose 4.38%.

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