Shares snap 2-week losing streak

Saturday, 26 March 2022 00:46 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

REUTERS: Sri Lanka shares closed flat yesterday, but ended the week with gains of nearly 1% on hopes of support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to tide over an economic crisis.

The CSE All-Share index ended up 0.03% at 10,455.32 points, and snapped two straight weekly losses. Sri Lanka will seek World Bank assistance to stave off a severe economic crisis in addition to an IMF rescue plan to be discussed next month.

The country’s foreign exchange reserves have fallen 70% in the past two years to about $ 2.31 billion, leaving it struggling to pay for essential imports, including food and fuel.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s central bank told Reuters that all coupon payments and bond repayments have been settled in a timely manner and are up to date and there was no payment due on 23 March.

Conglomerate Expolanka Holdings PLC was the top boost to the index, gaining 4.76%.

Foreign investors were net sellers in the equity market, offloading shares worth nearly Rs. 99.62 million, while domestic investors were net buyers, buying Rs. 4.46 billion worth of shares, exchange data showed.

The equity market turnover was Rs. 4.5 billion. Trading volume rose to 95.33 million shares from 50.9 million shares in the previous session.

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event including Valentine ’s Day. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Flower Bouquets, Clothing, Watches, Lingerie, Gift Sets and Jewellery. Also if you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.