Sri Lankan bourse gains to over 5-month high on banks, inflows

COLOMBO, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Sri Lankan shares edged up on Thursday to hit their highest in more than five months on continued foreign inflows on positive sentiment after an investor roadshow in Singapore earlier this week and low interest rates. 

 The main stock index rose 0.22 percent, or 13.47 points, to 6,226.14, its highest close since Aug. 16. 

 Officials from the Colombo Stock Exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission, along with some top company officials and brokers, were in Singapore for a roadshow on Monday to attract more foreign funds. 

 Shares in top listed lender Commercial Bank of Ceylon rose 1.63 percent to 130.60 rupees while Cargills (Ceylon) PLC rose 3.52 percent to 150.10 rupees. 

 Cargills on Wednesday in a disclosure to the Stock Exchange said the central bank had granted it a licence to start commercial banking operations in its Cargills Bank Limited. 

The market has gained 4.7 percent in the last 11 sessions, which analysts attributed to the central bank's interest rate cut on Jan. 2 and the recent fall in T-bill yields. 

The index has been in an overbought region since Jan. 7, Thomson Reuters data showed. 

It has risen 5.3 percent so far this year following a 4.8 percent gain in 2013, after having fallen in the previous two years. 

 The day's turnover was 1.9 billion rupees ($14.53 million), more than last year's daily average of about 828.4 million rupees. 

 Foreign investors were net buyers of 236.7 million rupees worth of shares, extending the year-to-date net inflow to 1.21 billion rupees. 

They had bought 22.88 billion rupees of stocks last year. 

($1 = 130.8000 Sri Lanka rupees) 

 (Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Sunil Nair)
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