Rupee’s high continues; Bourse dip persists

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka’s rupee currency hit a new two-year high on Friday on dollar sales by exporters ahead of the year-end holidays, while the stock market fell 0.2 percent in low turnover for the fifth straight session on a credit shortage.

The rupee closed at 110.90/111.94 a dollar, its highest since 11 December, 2008, from Thursday’s 110.97/02. It has risen around 3 percent in 2010.

The main share index fell 13.02 points or 0.20 percent to 6,432.75, its lowest close since 30 November. Asia’s best performer in 2010 has gained 90 percent, ahead of second-ranked Indonesia’s 47.9 percent.

The day’s turnover was 1.2 billion rupees ($10.8 million), over two times the 2009 daily average of 593.6 million rupees. Foreign investors have sold a net 25 billion rupees in shares this year and on Friday sold a net 5.5 million rupees.

The bourse is trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 20.1, the highest in Asia, compared with all-Asia’s 13.2 and global emerging markets’ 12.2, Thomson Reuters StarMine data showed.

The CSE’s 14-day relative strength index is at 44.6, between the lower and upper neutral limit of 30 and 70.

 Trading volume rose to 70.7 million shares on Friday, against an average volume of 58.6 million and 53.1 million in the past five and 30 days, respectively.

The 90-day average volume is 70.3 million.