Jan 6 (Reuters) - Sri Lankan stocks hit more than six-week closing high on Tuesday, led by top lender Commercial Bank of Ceylon, as investors picked up beaten-down shares ahead of the presidential election later this week.
The main stock index closed 0.98 percent, or 71.75 points, higher at 7,420.14, its highest close since Nov. 20.
"Investors are not worried about the outcome of the elections," said Dimantha Mathew, manager of research at First Capital Equities (Pvt) Ltd.
"They (investors) think if the President Mahinda Rajapaksa wins, stability and continuity will be there and if the opposition wins, it will be a business-friendly government."
President Rajapaksa called early elections to be held on Jan. 8. Twenty six lawmakers have quit the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance since the election announcement, including former health minister Mithripala Sirisena, who is challenging Rajapaksa's bid for a third term. Two opposition legislators have joined the ruling party.
The central bank said the economy would grow annually at 8 percent in the six years between 2015 and 2020 after achieving an estimated growth of 7.8 percent in 2014.
The gain in the stock index was boosted by a 2.92 percent rise in Commercial Bank of Ceylon and a 6.15 percent jump in construction firm Access Engineering Plc.
Turnover was 2.1 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($15.98 million), well above last year's daily average of 1.42 billion rupees, stock exchange data showed.
Foreign investors were net sellers of 287.4 million rupees worth of shares on Tuesday, data showed. They bought a net 22.07 billion rupees worth stocks last year, a little less than the previous year's 22.88 billion inflow.
The stock index gained 23.4 percent in 2014 after rising 4.8 percent in the previous year. It has lost 3.5 percent since Nov. 19 when Rajapaksa announced his decision to hold a snap poll.
The main stock index closed 0.98 percent, or 71.75 points, higher at 7,420.14, its highest close since Nov. 20.
"Investors are not worried about the outcome of the elections," said Dimantha Mathew, manager of research at First Capital Equities (Pvt) Ltd.
"They (investors) think if the President Mahinda Rajapaksa wins, stability and continuity will be there and if the opposition wins, it will be a business-friendly government."
President Rajapaksa called early elections to be held on Jan. 8. Twenty six lawmakers have quit the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance since the election announcement, including former health minister Mithripala Sirisena, who is challenging Rajapaksa's bid for a third term. Two opposition legislators have joined the ruling party.
The central bank said the economy would grow annually at 8 percent in the six years between 2015 and 2020 after achieving an estimated growth of 7.8 percent in 2014.
The gain in the stock index was boosted by a 2.92 percent rise in Commercial Bank of Ceylon and a 6.15 percent jump in construction firm Access Engineering Plc.
Turnover was 2.1 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($15.98 million), well above last year's daily average of 1.42 billion rupees, stock exchange data showed.
Foreign investors were net sellers of 287.4 million rupees worth of shares on Tuesday, data showed. They bought a net 22.07 billion rupees worth stocks last year, a little less than the previous year's 22.88 billion inflow.
The stock index gained 23.4 percent in 2014 after rising 4.8 percent in the previous year. It has lost 3.5 percent since Nov. 19 when Rajapaksa announced his decision to hold a snap poll.
($1 = 131.4000 Sri Lankan rupees)
(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Anand Basu)
No comments:
Post a Comment