Sri Lanka stocks steady at over 33-month high

(Reuters) - Sri Lankan stocks ended flat on Friday, hovering near a 33-month high struck on Wednesday as profit-taking in diversified shares was offset by gains in telecommunication shares, brokers said.

The island nation's share index has risen 5.39 percent so far this month as the yields in risk free treasury bills and the central bank's key monetary policy rates have fallen to multi-year lows amid continued foreign buying.

The main stock index edged up 0.33 points, to 6,722.2, near its highest close since Oct. 3, 2011 hit on Wednesday.

"Investors are positive as the interest rates have come down and the consumer demand is rising, which can have an impact on the banking sector," said Dimantha Mathew, manager research at First Capital Equities in Colombo.

The central bank on Monday kept policy rates steady at multi-year lows for a sixth straight month, as expected, despite private sector credit growth slowing to a 4-1/2-year low.

The index is in the overbought region since July 3. It has risen 13.69 percent so far this year, Thomson Reuters data showed.

Turnover was 1.3 billion rupees ($9.98 million), slightly above this year's daily average of about 1.09 billion rupees.

Foreign investors were net buyers of 62.4 million rupees worth of shares on Friday, extending net foreign inflows in stocks to 10.02 billion rupees so far this year.

Shares in Sri Lanka Telecom Plc rose 0.91 percent to 55.50 rupees, while large cap share Ceylon Tobacco Co Plc rose 0.86 percent to 1,112 rupees.

Hemas Holdings, a diversified conglomerate, fell 1.64 percent to 48.1 rupees.

Lower interest rates have prompted local investors to buy shares and shift their savings from unattractive fixed assets, analysts said, as yields on treasury bills edged down further at a weekly auction on Wednesday.

Analysts said foreigners have been buying risky assets because they see value in them, while falling yields in fixed assets gradually prompt local investors to shift to equities.

The market has been on a rising trend since late February due to continued foreign buying and lower interest rates. ($1 = 130.2000 Sri Lankan Rupees) (Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Anand Basu)

Sri Lanka stocks close flat

July 18, 2014 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's stocks closed with a lackluster note on Friday amid low foreign participation, brokers said.

The Colombo benchmark All Share Price Index closed 0.33 points higher at 6,722.20. The S&P SL20 closed 8.49 points lower at 3,738.98, down 0.23 percent.

Turnover was 1.30 billion rupees, up from 926.45 million rupees a day earlier with 108 stocks closed positive against 81 negative.

Lanka Ashok Leyland closed 2.90 rupees higher at 1,742.90 rupees with an off-market transaction of 403.47 million rupees changing hands at 1,800.00 rupees per share contributing 31 percent of the turnover.

John Keells Holdings closed flat at 245.00 rupees with market transactions of 224.23 million rupees contributing 17 percent of the turnover.

JKH’s W0022 warrants closed 1.90 rupees lower at 64.00 rupees and its W0023 warrants closed 70 cents lower at 73.00 rupees.

George Steuart Finance closed 80 cents higher at 47.70 rupees, attracting most number of trades during the day.

Foreign investors bought 113.33 million rupees worth shares while selling 50.92 million rupees worth shares.

Ceylon Tobacco Company closed 9.50 rupees higher at 1,112.00 rupees and Nestle Lanka closed 9.20 rupees higher at 2,110.00 rupees.

Sri Lanka Telecom closed 50 cents higher at 55.50 rupees and Dialog Axiata closed 10 cents lower at 10.90 rupees.

Commercial Bank closed 1.00 rupee lower at 140.50 rupees and Commercial Leasing and Finance closed 10 cents lower at 4.20 rupees.

Australia's MRL Corporation finds high TGC graphite from Sri Lanka mines

July 17, Colombo: Shares of MRL Corporation, an Australian mining company exploring graphite in Sri Lanka, are expected to go up after the company revealed that the graphite found in its mines in Sri Lanka are of high-grade with up to 97.8% TGC (Total Graphitic Carbon).

MRL Corporation started coring activities at the first drill hole of its Pandeniya graphite project last month.

The graphite vein intersected last month in just the first diamond hole at interval 97.0m to 97.9m averaged 97% TGC with results TGC as high as 97.8% , the company said in a release.

Assays are from the Pandeniya - Priority 1 Area within the Warakopola Project Area in central Sri Lanka.

The significance of the results is that they confirm the presence of high-grade vein graphite within the first license to be systematically drill tested.

"The results confirm the presence of extremely high grade vein graphite within the Bopitiya / Pandeniya Priority 1 license,"Craig McGuckin, managing director said.

MRL Corporation signed a contract with Sri Lanka's Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) last month for diamond drilling services at its Warakapola Pandeniya / Bopitiya graphite project.

The Australian mining company holds 6,300 hectares of Exploration Licenses that could potentially produce 5,000tpa of vein graphite and has applied for further exploration areas surrounding its granted licenses.

Sri Lanka is known as the only major producer of crystalline vein Graphite (or lump Graphite) - the highest quality of naturally occurring material in the world. The purity level of vein Graphite produced in Sri Lanka is in excess of 90% carbon and hence requiring very little upgrading and processing to produce a high quality saleable product, leading to low operating costs and high profit margins. 

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