Sri Lankan shares end at near 2-week low

Reuters: Sri Lankan stocks closed at their lowest in nearly two weeks on Monday led by diversified shares as concerns about rising interest rates and the ongoing political stability weighed on sentiment.

The Colombo stock index ended 0.12 percent down at 6,162.05, its lowest close since Jan. 10.

The index hit a two-week high on Jan. 13 after the European Commission proposed increased market access for Sri Lanka as a reform incentive.

"The uncertainty is still there and investors are still in wait-and-see mode as they are worried over the current uncertainty and interest rate volatility," said Dimantha Mathew, head of research at First Capital Equities (Pvt) Ltd.

Foreign investors net sold 22.3 million rupees ($148,518.15) worth of equities on Monday, extending the year-to-date net foreign outflow to 1.38 billion rupees.

Turnover stood at 661.8 million rupees.

Shares in fixed-line telephone operator Sri Lanka Telecom Plc fell 0.28 percent, while market heavyweight John Keells Holdings fell 0.92 percent.

Rising market interest rates, which move in tandem with t-bill yields, have been a cause for concern, brokers said.

Yields on treasury bills rose 1-16 basis points at a weekly auction on Wednesday to a four-month high after the central bank governor signalled reduced intervention to defend the rupee.

Investors are also concerned about possible political uncertainty as the main coalition partners in the government are contesting local polls separately, analysts said. 

($1 = 150.1500 Sri Lankan rupees) 

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Sunil Nair)

Colombo Stock Exchange Market Review – 23rd Jan 2017

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Colombo Stock Exchange Trade Summary 23-Jan-2017

Colombo bourse edged lower on week’s opening day led by foreign outflows. All Share index dipped 7.52 index points or 0.12% to end at 6,162.05 while S&P SL20 index lost 7.96 index points (-0.23%) to end at 3,500.44.

Price decline in premier blue-chip, John Keells Holdings (closed at LKR 139.50, -0.9%) along with its subsidiaries, Ceylon Cold Stores (closed at LKR 725.50, -2.1%) and Trans Asia Hotels (closed at LKR 80.00, -5.6%) adversely impacted the index performance. Losers offset the gainers 72 to 47 while 73 scripts remained unchanged.

Daily market turnover was LKR 662mn. Dialog Axiata topped the turnover with LKR 106mn followed by Melstacorp (LKR 94mn), Cargills (LKR 85mn) and John Keells Holdings (LKR 83mn) respectively.

Negotiated deals were recorded in John Keells Holdings (0.6mn shares at LKR 140.00), Access Engineering (2.9mn shares at LKR 26.50), Chevron Lubricants (LKR 0.3mn shares at LKR 165.00), Cargills (0.2mn shares at LKR 200.00) and Commercial Bank (0.2mn shares at LKR 142.00). Aggregate value of crossings accounted for 42% of the turnover.

High investor activity was seen in Teejay Lanka where stock declined to LKR 42.10 (-0.9%). John Keells Holdings, Chevron Lubricants and Cargills were among most traded stocks.

Foreign investors were net sellers with a net foreign outflow of LKR 22mn. Foreign participation for the day was 58%. Net foreign outflows were seen in John Keells Holdings (LKR 80mn), Seylan Bank (LKR 10mn), Tokyo Cement (LKR 3mn) while net foreign inflow was mainly seen in Cargills (LKR 49mn).
Source: LSL