Retail profit-taking drags bourse down

Reuters: Shares ended a four-session gaining streak on Tuesday as retail investors booked profits, but continued buying in blue chips by foreign investors supported. The main stock index ended down 0.24%, or 14.43 points, at 5,953.19, retreating from a seven-month closing high in the previous session. Shares have been rising on hopes of a fall in interest rates after Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundera and the Central Bank said official interest rates could ease in May and June.

The market has risen 3.3% through Monday since the Treasury Secretary’s comments on official interest rates on 9 April.

“We saw some profit-taking on retail counters at the end of the month, which brought the market down,” said a stock broker.

Turnover was Rs. 875.97 million ($ 6.91 million), lower than this year’s daily average of Rs. 965 million.

Foreign investors were net buyers of Rs. 85.8 million of shares, extending the net foreign inflow so far this year to Rs. 8.78 billion ($ 69.27 million). Last year, the Bourse saw a net inflow of $ 303 million.

The rupee ended a tad firmer at 126.70/75 per dollar from Monday’s close of 126.65/85 on exporter dollar sales, currency dealers said.