Bourse climbs to highest close in three weeks

Friday, 2 February 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Shares rose for a second straight session on Thursday to their highest close in more than three weeks as foreign buying boosted sentiment, brokers said.

The Colombo stock index ended up 0.34% at 6,498.45, its highest close since 10 January. “The positive sentiment is continuing. Both local retailers and foreigners were active today and we expect the momentum to continue,” said Softlogic Stockbrokers Deputy CEO Hussain Gani.

Shares in Sri Lanka Telecom Plc closed 3.9% higher, while Carson Cumberbatch Plc rose 8.2%.

Janashakthi Insurance Company Plc jumped 8%, building on a steep 24% gain over the last two sessions.

Janashakthi Insurance Plc said on Thursday its board authorised a sale of all of the shares it held in its wholly-owned subsidiary, Janashakthi General Insurance Ltd.

The market turnover was Rs. 902.7 million ($5.86 million), less than last year’s daily average of Rs. 915.3 million.

Foreign investors bought a net Rs. 243.7 million worth of shares on Thursday, extending the year-to-date net foreign inflow to Rs. 4.3 billion worth of equities.

Analysts said the political uncertainty ahead of a local election next month weighed on sentiment. Sri Lanka will hold a long-delayed Local Government election on 10 February.

President Maithripala Sirisena in an election rally over the weekend said he was ready to form a new government with his Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), breaking away from the current coalition – a comment that exacerbated worries about the future of the Coalition Government.