COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's stock market jumped 2.6 percent in healthy volume on Friday to the highest level in eight months, with institutional and foreign investors buying banks and diversified shares.
The Colombo Stock Exchange's main index ended 2.59 percent, or 149.68 points, up at 5,926.90, its highest close since Jan. 13. The rise helped boost market capitalisation by 57.27 billion rupees.
"Continuous foreign interest and institutional participation are keeping the market rising and we expect a healthy correction after the index hits 6,000 points," said a stockbroker who declined to be identified.
The index has risen 18.2 percent in the last 14 sessions on hopes that a new Securities and Exchange Commission head, Nalaka Godahewa, will produce ideas to revive the market, down 2.43 percent since the beginning of the year.
Turnover on Friday was 3.23 billion rupees ($24.50 million), the highest since June 26 and more than three times the year's daily average of 908.6 million rupees.
The bourse saw a net foreign inflow of 259 million rupees extending the net inflow this year to 29.46 billion rupees.
The rupee closed weaker at 132.10/20 to the US dollar compared with Thursday's close of 131.98/132.05 on strong importer demand for dollars, dealers said.
source - www.brecorder.com
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