Stocks at over 3-year closing high; banking shares lead

Saturday, 6 September 2014 00:16 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Stocks hit their highest closing in more than three years on Friday, led by banking shares such as Commercial Bank of Ceylon Plc and DFCC Bank Plc amid low interest rates and continued foreign buying into risky assets. The main stock index rose 0.38%, or 26.81 points, to close at 7,087.41, its highest close since 14 June 2011. “The market is refusing to bend. Where do you go with the low interest rates? The market gives the better options,” said Reshan Kurukulasuriya, Chief Operating Officer of Richard Pieris Securities. The index has gained nearly 19.87% so far this year. The Bourse has been in an overbought region since July. The Relative Strength Index, a momentum indicator tracked by chartists, was at 79.320 on Friday, Thomson Reuters data showed. Stocks are deemed “overbought” above the 70-mark, which tends to signal a reversal in the near term. Commercial Bank of Ceylon, the country’s biggest listed lender by market capitalisation, led gains with a rise of 2.85% at Rs. 155.30, while DFCC Bank rose 1.48% to Rs. 191.80. Shares of Hatton National Bank Plc rose 1.40% to Rs. 173.30, while John Keells Holdings Plc rose 0.04% to Rs. 250. After market hours on Wednesday, Fitch Ratings downgraded John Keells’ National Long-Term Rating to ‘AA+(lka)’ from ‘AAA(lka)’. Exchange turnover was Rs. 1.25 billion ($9.60 million), in line with this year’s daily average of Rs. 1.2 billion. Foreign investors were net buyers of Rs. 198.2 million worth of shares, extending the year-to-date net foreign inflows to Rs. 9.15 billion. The Central Bank did not offer 91-day T-bills at the weekly auction on Wednesday after it rejected all bids in the last two auctions, while yields on the 182-day and the 364-day Treasury bills held steady for the third time.

Rupee down marginally on importer dollar demand

Reuters: The rupee fell slightly against the dollar on Friday as importer demand for the greenback outpaced inward remittances and selling of the US currency by exporters, dealers said. They said the three-day forward, or spot next, was actively traded. They expect the local currency to remain steady for the rest of the year after Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said recently the banking regulator would intervene in the thinly-traded market whenever needed to keep the rupee stable. The rupee was quoted at 130.22/24 per dollar at 0531 GMT, weaker than Thursday’s close of 130.20/24. The spot next was traded at 130.24/26 per dollar, same as Thursday’s close. Dealers said they are waiting for the results of National Savings Bank’s dollar bond sale. Foreign investors bought a net Rs. 250 million ($ 1.9 million) worth of Government securities in the week ended 27 August, official data showed. The Central Bank did not offer 91-day t-bills at the weekly auction on Wednesday after it rejected all bids in the last two auctions, while yields on the 182-day and the 364-day Treasury bills held steady for the third time. Sri Lankan shares were up 0.22%, or 15.36 points, at 7,075.96 at 0534 GMT, their more than three-year high. Turnover was Rs. 446.3 million ($3.43 million), with 10.3 million shares changing hands.

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