(Reuters) - Sri Lankan stocks rose for the fourth straight session on Friday to touch its highest in more than three years. The gains were led by banking and diversified shares on bullish sentiment due to lower interest rates, higher foreign fund buying and positive economic outlook.
Stockbrokers said they expected the index to gain further as the market is expecting another rate cut during the central bank's monetary policy rate meeting next week. The announcement is scheduled for 0200 GMT on Tuesday.
The main stock index ended up 0.39 percent, or 28.02 points, at 7,234.92, its highest closing level since June 9, 2011.
"The market is continuing its bull run on the back of lower interest rates and positive outlook," said a stockbroker asking not to be named. "The market is expecting a rate cut because the treasury bill rates are now below the policy rates."
Yields on treasury bills fell 3-4 basis points at a weekly auction on Wednesday and are below the central bank's standing deposit facility rate or the rate at which the central bank lends money to commercial banks.
The cut in energy prices on Tuesday has also enthused the market.
Sri Lanka is aiming for a higher economic growth of 8.2 percent and a lower fiscal deficit target of 4.4 percent of gross domestic product next year, a government document showed on Thursday.
The index has gained 22.36 percent so far this year.
The bourse has been in an overbought region since July. The Relative Strength Index, a momentum indicator tracked by chartists, rose to 83.883 on Friday compared with Thursday's 81.562, Thomson Reuters data showed.
Shares in Bukit Darah Plc, which led the overall gain in the index, rose 2.69 percent to 725 rupees, while the biggest listed lender by market capitalisation, Commercial Bank of Ceylon, rose 1.27 percent to 158.90 rupees.
The day's turnover was 2.52 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($19.35 million), more than this year's daily average of over 1.27 billion rupees.
Foreign investors were net buyers of 196.3 million rupees worth of shares on Friday, extending their year-to-date net purchases of 11.1 billion rupees.
($1 = 130.2500 Sri Lankan rupee)
Stockbrokers said they expected the index to gain further as the market is expecting another rate cut during the central bank's monetary policy rate meeting next week. The announcement is scheduled for 0200 GMT on Tuesday.
The main stock index ended up 0.39 percent, or 28.02 points, at 7,234.92, its highest closing level since June 9, 2011.
"The market is continuing its bull run on the back of lower interest rates and positive outlook," said a stockbroker asking not to be named. "The market is expecting a rate cut because the treasury bill rates are now below the policy rates."
Yields on treasury bills fell 3-4 basis points at a weekly auction on Wednesday and are below the central bank's standing deposit facility rate or the rate at which the central bank lends money to commercial banks.
The cut in energy prices on Tuesday has also enthused the market.
Sri Lanka is aiming for a higher economic growth of 8.2 percent and a lower fiscal deficit target of 4.4 percent of gross domestic product next year, a government document showed on Thursday.
The index has gained 22.36 percent so far this year.
The bourse has been in an overbought region since July. The Relative Strength Index, a momentum indicator tracked by chartists, rose to 83.883 on Friday compared with Thursday's 81.562, Thomson Reuters data showed.
Shares in Bukit Darah Plc, which led the overall gain in the index, rose 2.69 percent to 725 rupees, while the biggest listed lender by market capitalisation, Commercial Bank of Ceylon, rose 1.27 percent to 158.90 rupees.
The day's turnover was 2.52 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($19.35 million), more than this year's daily average of over 1.27 billion rupees.
Foreign investors were net buyers of 196.3 million rupees worth of shares on Friday, extending their year-to-date net purchases of 11.1 billion rupees.
($1 = 130.2500 Sri Lankan rupee)
(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)
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