Bourse lures back Rs. 1 b net foreign inflow

Wednesday, 6 March 2013 00:57 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Stock indices and local sentiments may be besieged, but the Colombo Bourse is luring back net foreign inflow.

This week so far, the CSE has seen over Rs. 1 billion in net inflow thanks to persistent bullishness by existing and new funds on select blue chips.

On Monday there was a net inflow of Rs. 858 million followed by Rs. 282 million yesterday, bringing the year-to-date figure back to positive territory of Rs. 0.4 billion in net inflow. A few weeks back there was an outflow of over Rs. 1 billion.

Softlogic Stockbrokers said the Colombo Bourse is currently witnessing a phase of stagnation as a result of macroeconomic uncertainty and negative investor sentiment clouding the direction of indices.

“It is notable that recent trend etched around prominence in banking and finance sector and a few selected large caps in specific dominating the market. The YTD net foreign outflow reversing justifies the confidence foreigners have placed on the Colombo Bourse, thereby picking on the attractively-priced companies with expected sustainable earnings growth potential. Local players in contrast are still bewildered by the downtrend with the echoing herd instinct. We reiterate pragmatic investors to step in at this point, thus not missing out the possibility of healthy returns stemming from a recovery,” Softlogic added.