Bourse at 3-month high despite continued foreign outflow

Thursday, 24 January 2013 01:29 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Sri Lanka’s stock market edged up to a three-month high on Wednesday, led by banking and hotel shares, but foreign selling continued for the fourth day running.

The main share index closed 0.22%, or 12.73 points firmer, at 5,883.66, its highest close since Oct 3.

Foreign investors sold a net 239.15 million rupees ($1.89 million) worth of shares, extending the net outflow of foreign funds to 989.2 million rupees over four sessions and bringing the year-to-date foreign outflow of 354.1 million rupees.

Sri Lanka enjoyed a record foreign inflow of 38.63 billion rupees last year.

“The good thing is there is no panic in the market, though the foreign selling is continuing,” a stockbroker said on condition of anonymity.

Foreign investors mainly sold top lender Commercial Bank of Ceylon, which ended 0.19% weaker at 104 rupees.

A fall in the yields of government securities boosted local buying after the 91-day t-bill yield fell to an 11-month low at a weekly auction on Tuesday.

Turnover on Wednesday was 1.27 billion rupees ($10.02 million).

The rupee closed weaker at 127.00/20 to the dollar from Tuesday’s close of 126.75/85.

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.