Stocks edge higher on local buying; rupee firmer

Wednesday, 22 May 2019 00:19 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Sri Lankan shares closed higher for a third straight session on Tuesday, moving further away from a near seven-year closing low hit last week, as local investors bought beaten-down stocks.

Traders, however, said sectarian violence still weighed on investor sentiment. Most investors have shied away from the market since the 21 April bombings that killed more than 250 people.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 14 May approved the disbursal of a $164 million tranche of a loan program, bringing the total disbursed to more than $1.16 billion.

Sri Lanka’s economy should still grow 3.5% this year and there has not been a revision yet, the IMF added on Thursday.

Sri Lanka’s economic growth is expected to slump to its lowest in nearly two decades this year, a Reuters poll showed last week. Tourism, foreign investment and overall business activity have all dropped after the bombings.

The benchmark stock index ended 0.6% firmer on Tuesday at 5,291.28. It fell 1.28% last week. The markets were closed on Monday for a special holiday.

Turnover was Rs. 330.6 million ($1.88 million), well below this year’s daily average of around Rs. 562.6 million. Last year’s daily average was Rs. 834 million.

Foreign investors sold a net Rs 43.4 million worth of shares on Tuesday, extending the year-to-date net foreign outflow to Rs. 5.8 billion worth of equities.

The rupee ended at 176.25/40 per dollar, weaker than Friday’s close of 175.90/176.10, market sources said.

Analysts expect the currency to weaken as money flows out of stocks and government securities.

The rupee gained 0.1% this week and is up 3.9% for the year. Exporters had converted dollars as investor confidence stabilised after a $1 billion sovereign bond was repaid in mid-January.

The rupee dropped 16% in 2018 and was one of the worst-performing currencies in Asia.

Foreign investors sold a net Rs. 433.2 million worth of government securities in the week ended 15 May, extending net foreign outflow to Rs. 21.2 billion so far this year, Central Bank data showed.

SL has capacity to recover from terror faster: Eran

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