(Reuters) - Sri Lankan shares slipped on Monday from their more than one-month closing high hit in the previous session, as investors booked profits after three straight sessions of gains, brokers said.
The main index slipped 0.09 percent, or 6.03 points, to 7,080.38, after closing at its highest since March 16 on Friday. It had gained 2.7 percent as of Friday since the central bank cut rate on Wednesday, while yields on government securities have fallen 30-50 basis points.
Stockbrokers said there was some profit-taking during the day with local investors mainly on the buying side.
The market saw a net foreign inflow of 184.9 million rupees ($1.39 million), extending the net foreign inflow so far this year to 3.58 billion rupees.
Turnover was 493.3 million rupees, the lowest since April 8 and less than a half of this year's daily average of around 1.1 billion rupees.
The market is dull due to political uncertainty and many are on a wait-and-see mode before the parliamentary elections, said Dimantha Mathew, research manager at First Capital Equities (Pvt) Ltd.
Shares of Hatton National Bank Plc fell 1.39 percent, while conglomerate John Keells Holdings Plc fell 0.48 percent.
The index lost 6.6 percent last month, its biggest monthly drop since October 2012, as investors sold their holdings to settle margin trades amid concerns about political stability and a rise in interest rates.
Investors have been cautious due to political uncertainty as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's party did not have a majority in parliament, stockbrokers said.
They said, however, efforts by both ruling and opposition parties for a stable government have helped to improve investor confidence, adding that investors were still largely on a wait-and-see mode ahead of parliamentary elections possibly in June.
($1 = 132.9000 Sri Lankan rupees)
(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
The main index slipped 0.09 percent, or 6.03 points, to 7,080.38, after closing at its highest since March 16 on Friday. It had gained 2.7 percent as of Friday since the central bank cut rate on Wednesday, while yields on government securities have fallen 30-50 basis points.
Stockbrokers said there was some profit-taking during the day with local investors mainly on the buying side.
The market saw a net foreign inflow of 184.9 million rupees ($1.39 million), extending the net foreign inflow so far this year to 3.58 billion rupees.
Turnover was 493.3 million rupees, the lowest since April 8 and less than a half of this year's daily average of around 1.1 billion rupees.
The market is dull due to political uncertainty and many are on a wait-and-see mode before the parliamentary elections, said Dimantha Mathew, research manager at First Capital Equities (Pvt) Ltd.
Shares of Hatton National Bank Plc fell 1.39 percent, while conglomerate John Keells Holdings Plc fell 0.48 percent.
The index lost 6.6 percent last month, its biggest monthly drop since October 2012, as investors sold their holdings to settle margin trades amid concerns about political stability and a rise in interest rates.
Investors have been cautious due to political uncertainty as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's party did not have a majority in parliament, stockbrokers said.
They said, however, efforts by both ruling and opposition parties for a stable government have helped to improve investor confidence, adding that investors were still largely on a wait-and-see mode ahead of parliamentary elections possibly in June.
($1 = 132.9000 Sri Lankan rupees)
(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
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