Shares end lower; John Keells, Ceylon Tobacco fall

Reuters: Shares ended slightly lower on Wednesday as investors sold blue-chips such as John Keells Holdings Plc and Ceylon Tobacco Company Plc even as the market awaited directions on the country’s economic policy.

The benchmark Colombo stock index ended down 0.09% at 6,382.42. It has fallen for three straight sessions through Wednesday.

“Investors area waiting to see tomorrow’s policy rates,” said Dimantha Mathew, Head of Research, First Capital Equities Ltd. “The Government has promised a lot. So people are waiting to see whether those will be fulfilled in the Prime Minister’s policy statement.”

The Central Bank is expected to keep its key interest rates steady for a fifth straight month on Thursday, a Reuters poll showed, despite signs that inflation and private sector credit growth are picking up.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is expected to announce the country’s economic policy next month.

Turnover stood at Rs. 364 million ($2.49 million), well below this year’s daily average of around Rs. 725.4 million.

Overseas investors were net sellers of Rs. 4.79 billion worth of shares so far this year, but they were net buyers of Rs. 14.9 million worth of shares on Wednesday.

Shares in conglomerate John Keells Holdings Plc fell 1%, while Ceylon Tobacco Company Plc dropped 1.1%, dragging the overall index down.