Bourse up; turnover hits new low

Friday, 27 December 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Sri Lankan stocks edged up on Thursday, snapping three straight sessions of falls, but the day’s turnover slumped to a one-year low and share volume fell to its lowest in four years as most investors stayed away from the market. The day’s turnover was 114.9 million rupees ($878,400), its lowest since Dec. 24, 2012 and less than a seventh of this year’s daily average of 831.7 million rupees. The day’s share volume slumped to its lowest since Nov. 26, 2009, which analysts attributed to the holiday mood with many investors staying away from the bourse, while large institutional funds were waiting for the new year to resume active trading. The main stock index edged up 0.04 percent, or 2.56 points, to 5,848.49, ending a three-day losing streak. It had hit a six-week low on Dec. 19. A 1.4 percent gain in Ceylon Tobacco Company and a 2 percent rise in conglomerate Aitken Spence helped the main index end in the green. Foreign investors bought a net 54.1 million rupees worth of shares on Thursday, bringing the net foreign inflow to 22.48 billion rupees so far this year. Analysts expect the market to rally early in the new year as the possibility of retail investors returning to risky assets is increasing due to falling interest rates, with yields on treasury bills dropping to their lowest since November 2011 at last week’s auction..

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