Stock market near 7-month closing high; stability hopes help

Wednesday, 12 August 2015 01:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Shares rose more than 1% on Tuesday to end near their highest level in nearly seven months as hopes of political stability and improved corporate earnings in the April-June quarter boosted sentiment, brokers said. However, some foreign investors sold off the island nation’s risky assets.

The main stock index ended 1.1% up at 7,458.92, its highest close since 16 January. The gain helped raise the market capitalisation by Rs. 34.4 billion.

The bourse has gained 7.73% in a month through Tuesday.

“Market was very bullish. More institutional and high net worth buying lifted the turnover. It’s a buyers market and investors were going up and buying,” said Dimantha Mathew, a research manager at First Capital Equities Ltd.

Conglomerate John Keells Holding Plc jumped 1.62% while Distillers Company of Sri Lanka Plc gained 3.47%.

Dialog Axiata Plc rose 1.75% and Nestle Lanka Plc rose 1.80%.

The index has been gaining since 7 July on expectations that strong corporate earnings and political stability after the elections on 17 August would boost returns, analysts said.

Turnover stood at Rs. 2.61 billion ($ 19.52 million) on Tuesday, more than double this year’s daily average of Rs. 1.13 billion.

Foreign investors, however, sold a net Rs. 295.5 million worth equities while they have offloaded a net Rs. 490.7 million worth of shares so far this year.

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.