Sri Lankan stocks hold steady; Ceylon Tobacco falls

Reuters: Sri Lankan stocks ended flat on Wednesday as the gains driven by manufacturing shares were offset by losses mainly in beverage companies.

The Colombo stock index ended 0.12 points weaker at 6,419.47.

Shares of Ceylon Tobacco Company Plc fell 2.9 percent, while biggest listed lender Commercial Bank of Ceylon Plc ended 1.01 percent down.

Richard Pieris Plc rose 14.4 percent and Sri Lanka Telecom Plc ended 2.1 percent firmer.

Turnover stood at 738.3 million rupees ($4.82 million), compared with this year’s daily average of about 916 million rupees.

Analysts said block deals boosted the day’s turnover.

“Block deals on blue chips are continuing,” said Dimantha Mathew, head of research at First Capital Holdings.

“The retail interest on the plantation sector continued, but that does not reflect in the overall index as the contribution is very low.”

Foreign investors bought a net 86.9 million rupees worth of shares on Wednesday extending the year-to-date net foreign inflow to 17.7 billion rupees worth of equities.

On Tuesday, the Sri Lankan central bank held its key rates steady, saying past steps were keeping inflation and credit growth under control, as policymakers focus on supporting an economy hit by extreme weather.

($1 = 153.0500 Sri Lankan rupees)

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)

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