Bourse ends week on 5-month high

Stocks extended gains for a ninth straight session on Friday, jumping 2% to a five-month high helped by blue chips and foreign buying.

The Colombo Stock Exchange’s main index gained 2%, or 107.93 points, to 5,496.85, its highest close since 4 April.

“Everybody is chipping in. Everybody is participating in the run and it’s mainly a sentiment-driven market,” said a stockbroker asking not to be named.

The new Head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Nalaka Godahewa, is expected to come up with new ideas to revive the market, which has fallen 9.51% so far this year.



Turnover was Rs. 1.76 billion, more than double of this year’s daily average of Rs. 874.2 million. The Bourse saw foreign inflows of Rs. 155.1 million worth of shares, extending the net inflow so far this year to Rs. 28.66 billion.

The rupee closed at 132.30/35 against the dollar, slightly firmer than Thursday’s close of 132.38/40.