Sri Lanka shares close up 0.1-pct

June 10, 2014 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's shares closed higher for the second consecutive day with finance stocks gaining amid thin net foreign buying, brokers said.

The Colombo benchmark All Share Price Index closed 6.61 points higher at 6,293.64, up 0.11 percent. The S&P SL20 closed 4.43 points higher at 3,484.12, up 0.13 percent.

Turnover was 886.88 million rupees, down from 1.40 billion rupees a day earlier with 89 stocks closed positive against 85 negative.

Distilleries closed 40 cents lower at 205.60 rupees with market transactions of 74.05 million rupees changing hands at 205.00 rupees per share contributing 8 percent of the daily turnover.

John Keells Holdings closed 30 cents lower at 234.50 rupees with three off-market transactions of 91.03 million rupees changing hands at the same price per share contributing 10 percent of the turnover.

JKH’s W0022 warrants closed 90 cents lower at 63.00 rupees and its W0023 warrants closed flat at 73.00 rupees.

Fresh entrant Adam Investments closed 1.00 rupee higher at 4.00 rupees after reaching at 4.10 rupees per share while attracting most number of trades during the day.

Foreign investors bought 256.69 million rupees worth shares while selling 251.68 million rupees worth shares.

Lanka Orix Leasing closed 4.50 rupees higher at 85.00 rupees and Nestle Lanka closed 39.10 rupees higher at 1,949.70 rupees, contributing most to the index gain.

Dialog Axiata closed 10 cents higher at 10.00 rupees and Sri Lanka Telecom closed 10 cents higher at 47.60 rupees.

Commercial Leasing and Finance closed 10 cents higher at 4.10 rupees and Lanka Orix Finance closed flat at 3.80 rupees.

Carson Cumberbatch closed 3.00 rupees higher at 405.00 rupees and Browns Investments closed 40 cents lower at 1.80 rupees.

Ceylon Tobacco Company closed 17.00 rupees lower at 1,000.00 rupees.

Sri Lanka Treasuries yields steady

June 10, 2014 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's Treasuries yields were steady at Tuesday's auction with yields easing one basis point across maturities, data from the state debt office showed.

The 3-month yield fell 01 basis point to 6.54 percent, the 6-month yield fell 01 basis point to 7.72 percent and the 12-month yield fell 01 basis point to 7.0 percent.

The debt office, which is a unit of the Central Bank said 12 billion rupees of bills were offered for rollover and 14.5 billion rupees in bids were accepted from the market made up of 905 million rupees in 3-month, 1.27 billion in 6-month and 12.3 billion in 12-month bills.

‘CSE betters 2013 figures in first five months of 2014’

In the first five months of 2014 the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has outperformed its major indicators from 2013, with the All Share Price Index (ASPI) closing at 6,263.46 on the 30th of May, presenting a 5.9 per-cent increase and the S&P SL 20 closing at 3,454.61 on the same day, with a 5.8 per-cent increase,a CSE press release said.

It adds: ‘The bourse has also proved to be an attractive avenue of investment, considering the prevailing Fixed Deposit interest rates of 5 to 6 per-cent. Nearly 46 per-cent of stocks have performed outstandingly, where 137, of the 293 listed, companies have given returns above 5 per-cent; including 49 companies providing an increase in returns over 20 per-cent, 51 companies appreciating by price between 10 and 20 per-cent and 37 companies increasing in value by 5 and 10 per-cent.

‘The listing of new companies on the Exchange is also gathering momentum within the business community, with seven (7) companies listing and increasing the total number of listed companies to 293. In the first five months of the year, the CSE saw three (3) equity IPO's raising Rs. 2,584 Mn, four (4) debt IPO's raising Rs. 5,500 Mn and one (1) equity introduction. The Rs. 2,584 Mn raised through equity IPO's is the highest since 2011.

‘The CSE under the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) 10 point market development plan is targeting more new companies in varied industry sectors to list and looks forward to adding more new listings in the second half of the year.

‘The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) operates the only share market in Sri Lanka and is responsible for providing a transparent and regulated environment where companies and investors can come together. The CSE is a company that is limited by guarantee established under the Laws of Sri Lanka. The CSE is licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) and is a mutual exchange consisting of 15 Members and 15 Trading Members. All Members and Trading Members are licensed by the SEC to operate as Stockbrokers. 
For more information, please visit: www.cse.lk.