COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's benchmark share index surged more than two percent to a new record in the first 40 minutes of trade on Wednesday, as investors snapped up large-cap shares in hopes of stock splits. After conglomerate Aitken Spence announced on Monday that its board of directors had approved a share split of 15 shares for every one share, investors have been buying select large-cap shares, though in thin volumes, traders said.
Aitken Spence and other large caps, such as Carsons Cumberbatch, Bukit Darah and Ceylon Guardians rose by the new maximum daily limit of 10 percent. The gains pushed Sri Lanka's main share index up as much as 2.14 percent to 5,421.14 points by 0438 GMT, Reuters data showed, surpassing its previous all-time high of 5,316.61 hit on Tuesday. Analysts said the market is getting over heated as investors are also snapping up some fundamentally unsound shares, along with shares that have released better post-war earnings in the June quarter.
The Sri Lanka index is Asia's best performer, with a gain of more than 60 percent so far this year, fuelled largely by hopes of a surge in investment and economic growth after the end of the country's 25-year civil war in May last year.
source - http://economictimes.indiatimes.com
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