Bourse dips on large cap stocks

Saturday, 8 August 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Shares edged down on Friday on profit-taking in large-cap stocks, but stockbrokers expect the index to move sideways with less volatility until the parliamentary election later this month.

Hopes of political stability after the 17 August elections and better earnings in the April-June quarter have boosted the index, which has gained 6.6% in a month through Thursday.

The main stock index ended 0.09% lower at 7,370.60. “There was a little bit of profit-taking. We expect the market to hold these levels until the elections,” Danushka Samarasinghe, research head at Softlogic Stockbrokers, told Reuters.

The losses were led by large-caps such as Carson Cumberbatch Plc, which fell 2.08%, while conglomerate John Keells Holdings Plc lost 0.26%.

The index has been on a gaining trend since 7 July due to investor appetite for risky assets on expectations of strong corporate earnings and political stability after the election.

Thursday’s turnover stood at 1.08 billion rupees ($ 8.07 million), around this year’s daily average of Rs. 1.11 rupees.

Foreign investors, who sold a net Rs. 80.2 million in equities on Friday, have sold a net Rs. 182.7 million worth of shares so far this year.