Saturday, 28 December 2013 09:12
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Reuters: Stocks rose for a second straight session on Friday, hitting a more than seven-week high led by diversified shares such as John Keells Holdings PLC.
The main stock index rose 0.48%, or 28.17 points, to 5,876.66, its highest close since 6 November.
The day’s turnover was Rs. 1.33 billion ($ 10.17 million), its highest since 8 November and well above this year’s daily average of Rs. 831.7 million.
Shares in conglomerate John Keells Holdings rose 2.27% to 225 rupees a share while CT Holdings rose 5.11%. Ceylon Tea Services PLC rose 1.43% to 680 rupees a share.
Foreign investors bought a net Rs. 13.91 million worth of shares on Friday, bringing the net foreign inflow to Rs. 22.49 billion so far this year.
Analysts said many investors were sidelined in a holiday mood, while large institutional funds were waiting for the new year to resume active trading.
They expect the market to rally early in the new year as the possibility of retail investors returning to risky assets is increasing due to falling interest rates, with yields on Treasury bills dropping to their lowest since November 2011 at last week’s auction.
