Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Sri Lanka shares hit fresh highs on Aitken share split

Aug 17 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's benchmark share index .CSE jumped more than 2 percent on Tuesday to a new record high as investors snapped up large cap shares on hopes of further stock splits.

Conglomerate Aitken Spence SPEN.CM said after the market close on Monday that its board of directors had approved a share split of 15 shares for every one share.

Shares of Aitken Spence and other large caps such as Carsons Cumberbatch CARS.CM and Bukit Darah BUKI.CM rose by the new maximum daily limit of 10 percent.

The gains pushed Sri Lanka's main share index .CSE up as much as 2.2 percent to 5,308.63 points by 0753 GMT, Reuters data showed, surpassing its previous all-time high of 5,225.60 hit on Aug 3.

"High caps are moving the index as investors expect more share splits after Aitken Spence announced it," said an analyst on condition of anonymity.

The Sri Lanka index is Asia's best performer with a gain of nearly 57 percent so far this year, fueled 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. (Reporting by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Kim Coghill)


source - http://www.reuters.com

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