Wednesday, 5 March 2014 00:47
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Reuters: Shares edged up on Tuesday, led by stocks of large cap firms such as Ceylon Tobacco Company Plc and John Keells Holdings Plc, but turnover was thin as cautious investors stayed on the sidelines. The main stock index rose 0.38%, or 22.61 points, to close at 5,936.62.
Shares of Ceylon Tobacco Company rose 1.52% to Rs. 1105.80 and top conglomerate John Keells Holdings gained 0.73% to Rs. 220.10.
The day’s turnover was Rs. 371.2 million ($ 2.84 million), well below this year’s daily average of about Rs. 1.05 billion.
Analysts said investors were cautious and waiting for direction as a tough resolution on Sri Lanka comes up for voting at the United Nation’s Human Rights Council later this month.
Foreign investors sold a net Rs. 7.75 million worth of shares on Tuesday, extending their net selling in the last 17 sessions to shares worth Rs. 5.43 billion as some offshore funds exited the market.
The index has seen a net Rs. 4.04 billion of foreign outflows so far in 2014, after net inflows of Rs. 22.88 billion last year.
Analysts said investors were concerned about further outflows, though local investors are still optimistic about risky assets due to falling interest rates.
