Bourse recovers on bargain hunting; John Keels leads

Thursday, 27 February 2014 01:30 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

REUTERS: Sri Lankan shares recovered from a near 10-week closing low on Wednesday on bargain hunting in beaten down shares, snapping a nine-session falling streak, led by the top conglomerate John Keells Holdings. Foreigners investors bought the island nation’s risky assets on a net basis in an oversold market. The main stock index gained 0.63%, or 36.89 points, to close at 5,872.81, up from its lowest close since 18 December hit in the previous session. The index dropped nearly 7% in the last 15 sessions through Tuesday and has been in oversold territory since Friday, Thomson Reuters data showed. Foreign investors bought a net Rs. 24.5 million of shares on Wednesday, but the bourse has suffered outflows of Rs. 5.41 billion in the past 14 sessions as some offshore funds exited the market. ]It has seen a net Rs. 4 billion of foreign outflows in 2014, after enjoying net inflows of Rs. 22.88 billion last year. Analysts said investors were concerned about further outflows, though local investors are still optimistic about risky assets due to falling interest rates. Top conglomerate John Keells Holdings gained 2.76% to Rs. 212, reversing a 22-session fall through Tuesday. The day’s turnover was Rs. 446.6 million ($ 3.41 million), less than half of this year’s daily average of about Rs. 1.09 billion.

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