Tuesday, 10 September 2013 00:24
-
- {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Reuters: Stocks weakened for a sixth straight session on Monday to touch a more than an eight-month closing low, with shares in market heavyweights leading the fall amid concern over the rupee’s depreciation, traders said.
The main share index fell 1.19%, or 67.38 points, to close at 5,605.26, its lowest close since 26 December.
It has fallen 3.9% over the last six sessions due to concerns over the rupee which hit a record low on 28 August.
“The market is lacklustre. There is no direction. The rupee depreciation is also a concern,” a stockbroker said.
The rupee traded steady on Monday, supported by an earlier directive by the Central Bank not to trade the currency beyond a certain level, but it still remained under pressure, dealers said.
The Bourse is in oversold territory, with the 14-day Relative Strength Index on Monday at 25.338, below its lower neutral level of 30, Thomson Reuters data showed.
Shares in Ceylon Tobacco Co PLC fell 7.73% to Rs. 1,030.30, while top conglomerate John Keells Holdings Plc lost 1.43% to Rs. 206.40.
Monday’s turnover was Rs. 323.7 million ($ 2.43 million), way below this year’s daily average of about Rs. 886.2 million.
Foreign investors were net buyers of Rs. 107.2 million worth of shares, snapping three straight sessions of outflows, and extending net foreign inflows in stocks to Rs. 18.61 billion so far this year.
