Sri Lankan shares fall to 1-mth low; Chevron Lubricants leads

Reuters: Sri Lankan shares fell on Wednesday to a one-month closing low, marking their sixth losing session in seven, led by the decline in Chevron Lubricants Lanka after it reported a drop in the June-quarter earnings.

Chevron Lubricants stock lost 6.3 percent on Wednesday after the company reported a 34 percent fall in its second-quarter profit.

The Colombo stock index ended 0.59 percent lower at 6,695.23, its lowest since June 16, marking a third straight losing session.

"There was selling pressure after the Chevron Lubricants' earnings. Some other blue chips also were under selling pressure," said Dimantha Mathew, head of research, First Capital Holdings.

However, foreign investors continued to buy stocks. They were net buyers of shares worth 113.5 million rupees ($738,932)on Tuesday, extending the year-to-date net foreign inflow to 24.4 billion rupees worth of equities.

Turnover was 781.6 million rupees, less than this year's daily average of 912.8 million rupees.

Shares of conglomerate Hemas Holdings fell 3.6 percent, while telecom company Dialog Axiata fell 1.7 percent. 

($1 = 153.6000 Sri Lankan rupees) 

(Reporting by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)

Sri Lankan shares fall for fifth session in six

Reuters: Sri Lankan shares closed lower on Tuesday, marking their fifth session of decline in six, although foreign investors continued to buy stocks.

Domestic investors were concerned about a possible increase in interest rate, analysts said, after the International Monetary Fund said further monetary policy tightening in Sri Lanka was desirable until there were clear signs that inflationary pressures were subsiding.

Foreign investors were net buyers of shares worth 658.9 million rupees ($4.3 million) on Monday, extending the year-to-date net foreign inflow to 24.3 billion rupees worth of equities.

The Colombo stock index ended 0.09 percent lower at 6,735.04, marking a second straight losing session.

"The turnover was good and there was a huge interest in select shares," said Prashan Fernando, CEO at Acuity Stockbrokers.

Turnover was 1.25 billion rupees, more than this year's daily average of 913.4 million rupees.

Shares of large cap Ceylinco Insurance fell 7.35 percent, while Ceylon Tobacco Company edged down 0.8 percent.

($1 = 153.7500 Sri Lankan rupees)

( Reporting by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)