Sri Lanka stocks end steady after CB held policy rates steady; turnover slumps to over 2-wk low
ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka stocks closed steady on Thursday (18) with turnover slumping to more than two-week low after the central bank held the key policy rates steady, dealers said.
The main All Share Price Index (ASPI) edged up 0.04% or 3.22 points to 8,910.57. On Tuesday, it fell from its highest
close since March 30.
“We saw the market stabilizing after slipping for the last two days on profit taking,” a top analyst said.
“But overall there was continued buying interest on the energy sector and in addition, we saw buying coming into the plantation-related stocks and their holding companies.”
There had been selling pressure on the banking sector, he said.
At the monthly policy review meeting held today, the central banks kept the rates unchanged.
Market analysts said investors have been looking for profit taking after the index gained nearly 2,000 points in the 12 consecutive sessions through Monday.
Investors, however, have been shifting from top liquid shares to energy and plantation sectors now, analysts said.
The market generated 2.72 billion rupees in turnover, its lowest since August 3 and less than this year’s average daily turnover of 3.13 billion rupees. This is also the lowest turnover in last nine sessions.
Sri Lanka has already declared sovereign debt default on April 12 this year and failed to pay its first sovereign debt in May amid a deepening economic crisis which later turned into a political crisis and led to a change in the president, cabinet, and government.
The more liquid S&P SL20 index ended 0.52% or 15.33 points up at 2,962.33.
Sri Lanka is facing its worst fuel and economic crisis in its post-independence era and the economy is
expected to contract 7 percent this year.
The main ASPI gained 15.2 percent in August so far after gaining 5.3 percent in July. It lost 9.3 percent in
June, 23 percent in April, and 14.5 percent in March.
The market index has lost 27.1 percent so far this year after being one of the world’s best stock markets
with an 80 percent return last year when large volumes of money were printed.
Net foreign inflow was 83 million rupees on Thursday, but the total net foreign outflow so far this year is 1.09 billion rupees.
Investors are also concerned over the steep fall of the rupee from 203 to 370 levels so far in 2022.
LOLC pushed the index up, closing 3.4 percent firmer at 589.3 rupees a share.
Sri Lanka Telecom closed 24.9 percent up at 42.2 rupees a share, and Dipped Products slipped 5.5
percent to 44.3 rupees. (Colombo/Aug17/2022)
