Reuters: ** Sri Lanka's rupee ended weaker on Friday, as dollar demand from importers weighed
on the currency, market sources said.
** The stock market also closed weaker at a near four-month low,
as foreign investors sold the island nation's risky assets.
** The rupee, ended at 178.65/85, compared with Thursday's close
of 178.50/70, market sources said.
** The local currency posted a weekly loss of 0.42 percent for
the week due to high dollar demand from importers and outflows
from the stock market.
** It has risen 2.2 percent so far this year as exporters
converted dollars and foreign investors purchased government
securities amid stabilising investor confidence in Sri Lanka
after the country repaid a $1 billion sovereign bond in
mid-January.
** The bond market saw inflows of 11.4 billion rupees ($63.87
million) in the week ended Feb. 6, recording its third straight
weekly inflow, the latest central bank data showed.
** Worries over heavy debt repayment after a 51-day political
crisis that resulted in a series of credit rating downgrades
dented investor sentiment as the country is struggling to repay
its foreign loans.
** The rupee dropped 16 percent in 2018, and was one of the
worst-performing currencies in Asia due to heavy foreign
outflows.
** The Colombo Stock Exchange index ended 0.39 percent
weaker at 5,909.30 on Friday, its lowest close since Oct. 26.
** The benchmark index fell 0.92 percent for the week after it
lost 0.3 last week, and declined about 1 percent in January.
** The turnover was 965.6 million rupees ($5.41 million), more
than last year's daily average of 834 million rupees.
** Foreign investors were net sellers of 590 million rupees
worth shares on Friday. They have been net sellers of 5.2
billion rupees worth of stocks so far this year, and 18.6
billion rupees since the political crisis began on Oct. 26,
2018.
($1 = 178.5000 Sri Lankan rupees)
(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Rashmi
Aich)
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