Saturday, 21 December 2013 00:00
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REUTERS: Sri Lankan stocks fell on Friday from their six-week closing high in the previous session, led by financials amid foreign investor selling in conglomerate Aitken Spence PLC.
The main stock index dropped 0.16%, or 9.64 points, to 5,857.36. On Thursday, it had closed at its highest level since 7 November. Shares in Aitken Spence fell 6.12% to Rs. 95.10.
Foreign investors sold a net Rs. 300.4 million ($ 2.30 million) worth of shares on Thursday, but the bourse has witnessed a net foreign inflows of Rs. 22.25 billion so far this year.
Analysts expect the market to witness a rally in the near future as the possibility of retail investors returning to risky assets is increasing due to falling interest rates.
Yields in 91-day and 182-day treasury bills dropped 12 basis points and 29 bps, respectively, at a weekly auction on Wednesday, while 364-day T-bill yield fell 62 bps. All T-bill yields fell to more than two-year lows.
The day’s turnover was Rs. 1.06 billion, higher than this year’s daily average of Rs. 836.5 million.
