Stock market ends higher ahead of polls

Reuters: Shares ended firmer on Friday on hopes that political stability after the 17 August parliamentary elections would help boost investor sentiment, brokers said.

The main stock index ended up 0.26% at 7,462.34, hovering near its highest close since 16 January hit on Wednesday.

The day’s turnover stood at Rs. 1.25 billion ($ 9.34 million) on Friday, slightly higher than this year’s daily average of Rs. 1.13 billion.

Foreign investors were net buyers for the first time in 11 sessions. They bought a net Rs. 113.3 million worth of equities on Friday. But they have offloaded a net Rs. 1.09 billion worth of shares so far this year.

“We were expecting market to be slow today as well, but it didn’t happen. Everybody is in a positive mood on expectation of a stable government after the election,” said Dimantha Mathew, a research manager at First Capital Equities Ltd.



Shares in Commercial Bank of Ceylon Plc rose 1.63 percent, while Lanka IOC Plc jumped 9.28%, pushing the index higher.