Stocks at three-week high on earning hopes

* Index up on high turnover, volume on hopes of SEC rule change  

* Foreign outflow at Rs. 407.6 m

* Rupee firmer, ending nine straight sessions   

Reuters: Sri Lanka’s bourse jumped 2.9 per cent on Friday to a three-week high on high turnover and volumes, sparked by hopes of good quarterly earnings and rumours the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may roll back plans to end margin trading.    

The SEC after market hours on Friday said it had not received any proposal from brokers to ease the margin phase-out and other regulations, as numerous brokers have anonymously said. The main share index gained 2.9 per cent or 191.81 points to 6,845.38, highest since 8 July. It fell to a seven-month low on Monday to the oversold region, making some stocks attractive.     

The 14-day Relative Strength Index shot up to 54.13 from Wednesday’s 42.32, well above the oversold level of 30, Thomsonreuters data showed. But foreign investors were net sellers of Rs. 407.6 million worth of shares on Friday, bringing the week’s outflow to Rs. 531.7 million. They have sold Rs. 8.24 billion in 2011 after a record outflow of 26.4 billion in 2010.

                    

The bourse is up 0.28 per cent for July but the index has shed 7.33 per cent since 1 June, mainly due to forced selling to meet the margin deadline. Analysts said they expect at least 10 per cent quarter-on-quarter growth and 40 per cent year-on-year in the overall June quarter earnings.     

The day’s turnover was Rs. 3.15 billion ($ 28.8 million), well above last year’s average of 2.4 billion and this year’s 2.7 billion. Friday’s total volume was 102.6 million against the bourse’s five-day average of 110.9 million. The 30-day and 90-day average trading volumes were 92.4 million and 106.4 million, respectively. Last year’s daily average was 67.9 million.     

The bourse is up 3.16 per cent so far this year, after being Asia’s best performer in 2009 and 2010, with 124 per cent and 96 per cent respectively due to optimism over the economy after the end of a 25-year war in May 2009.

The rupee ended firmer at 109.47/50 a dollar from Thursday’s close of 109.49/50 on heavy dollar conversions including $ 500 million by the Central Bank, which was exchanging proceeds from last week’s $1 billion eurobond sale.