CSE near 8-week high on blue-chips, foreign buying
Tuesday, 31 December 2013 00:42
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REUTERS: Sri Lankan stocks gained for a third straight session on Monday, hitting a near eight-week high, as foreign investors bought blue-chip shares.
The main stock index gained 0.38%, or 22.54 points, to 5,899.20, its highest close since 6 November. The index is poised for a yearly gain this year after recording annual losses for the last two years.
It has given a return of 1.98% so far this year measured in terms of US dollars.
Blue-chips such as market heavyweight John Keells Holdings and Commercial bank of Ceylon helped the overall index to end firmer. John Keells rose 2.44%, while Commercial Bank of Ceylon gained 1%.
Foreign investors bought a net Rs. 177 million ($ 1.35 million) worth of shares on Monday, bringing the net foreign inflow to Rs. 22.67 billion so far this year.
The day’s turnover was Rs. 515.3 million, less than this year’s daily average of around Rs. 830 million.
Analysts said many investors were not in the market due to a holiday mood, while large institutional funds were waiting for the New Year to resume active trading.
They expect the market to rally early in the New Year as the possibility of retail investors returning to risky assets is increasing due to falling interest rates, with yields on treasury bills dropping to their lowest since November 2011 at last week’s auction.
