Shares fall for 6th day; turnover slumps to 6-wk low

Reuters: Shares closed down for a sixth straight session on Monday with turnover slumping to a six-week low as cautious investors awaited a flurry of corporate results and next month’s national budget.

The benchmark index of the Colombo Stock Exchange ended 0.46% weaker at 6,452.69, its lowest close since 21 September. It shed 1.5% last week.

Turnover stood at Rs. 291.3 million ($ 1.99 million), its lowest since 5 September and less than half of this year’s daily average of around Rs. 745 million.

Foreign investors, who have sold a net Rs. 2.34 billion worth of shares so far this year, bought less than Rs. 700,000 worth of equities on Monday.

John Keells Holdings fell 0.66%, while top lender Commercial Bank of Ceylon lost 1.35%.

Sri Lanka’s quarterly earnings season started last week but the bulk of locally listed firms will not report until late October or early November.