Tuesday, 29 April 2014 00:00
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REUTERS: Shares ended a tad firmer in dull trade on Monday, led by diversified companies like Vallibel One, after the nation’s parliament approved three mega mixed development projects last week.
But the Government’s refusal to allow casinos at these projects hurt the momentum, dealers said.
The main stock index edged up 0.07%, or 4.13 points, to 6,171.94.Parliament on Friday approved two projects for luxury resorts, worth up to $ 1.25 billion, by John Keells Holdings PLC, that will include hotels and shopping malls, and by Australian gaming tycoon James Packer’s Crown Ltd.
Shares in Keells rose 0.04% to Rs. 235.00. Vallibel One, which rose 2.25% to Rs. 18.20, got parliamentary approval on Thursday to invest $ 300 million in an integrated luxury tourist resort in the island nation’s proposed exclusive gaming zone.
The market has gained 3.41% so far this month as some retail investors started buying risky assets in the face of low interest rates.
Lower interest rates have helped the market gain in the past few weeks, stockbrokers said.
The benchmark 91-day Treasury bill yield dropped to its lowest since January 2007 on Wednesday, data showed, a day after the Central Bank kept policy rates steady at multi-year lows.
The day’s turnover was Rs. 423.8 million ($ 3.24 million), well below this year’s daily average of Rs. 957.9 million.
Offshore investors were net buyers of Rs. 52.2 million worth of stocks on Monday in dull foreign activity. But they have been net sellers of Rs. 7.19 billion so far this year.
