Bourse posts recent best, both indices up sharply

CSE.SAS · 1 Bourse posts recent best, both indices up sharply Fri Jun 15, 2012 12:03 am

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* Turnover too looks up

The Colombo bourse yesterday posted its best recent trading day with both indices moving up sharply and turnover up to Rs.428.1 million from the previous day’s Rs.284.8 million with the All Share Price Index gaining 78.23 points (1.61%) and the Milanka up 77.68 points (1.80%) with 39 losers trailing 202 gainers.

Asked whether the bourse which had seen a persistent losing streak this year has at last reached a turnaround point, brokers said that if the trend continues with even modest gains, not necessarily the highs seen yesterday, confidence will build up and investors would come in.

A block trade of nearly 0.3 million Ascot Holdings which closed flat at Rs.170 in a deal worth Rs.48.2 million dominated the day’s trading.

"There was quite a lot of buying interest in blue chips like Commercial Bank, JKH, Carsons, Chevron Lubricants and Asian Hotel Properties," a broker said.

ComBank (voting) dominated turnover on the trading floor seeing over 0.2 million shares traded between Rs.100.50 and Rs.101 closing 40 cents up at Rs.100.90 contributing Rs.24.1 million to turnover.

JKH was up Rs.3.90 to close at Rs.186 with over 0.1 million shares traded between Rs.182.10 and Rs.187 generating Rs.22.6 million worth of business while Carsons closed flat at Rs.467 contributing Rs.22.4.

ComBank (non-voting) was up 50 cents to close at Rs.74.50 on nearly 0.2 million shares trading between Rs.74 and Rs.74.90 and Chevron Lubricants up Rs.5 to close at Rs.170 on 67,051 shares traded between Rs.164 and Rs.170.

Asian Hotel Properties was down 50 cents to close at Rs.72.50 on over 0.1 million shares.

Brokers said that there was retail play on some of the less pricey stocks with Kalpitiya seeing nearly 4.1 million shares traded between Rs.5 and Rs.5.50 closing 50 cents up at Rs.5.50.

Other inexpensive stocks that demonstrated volume and price gains were ERI up Rs.1.30 to close at Rs.13.40 on over 0.7 million shares, People’s Leasing up 20 cents to close at Rs.11.40 on nearly 0.8 million shares, HVA up Rs.1.40 to close at Rs.10.40 on nearly 0.9 million shares and Commercial Credit up Re.1 to close at Rs.15 on over 0.4 million shares.
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=54408

CSE.SAS · 2 Stocks at three-week high; rupee steady Fri Jun 15, 2012 2:50 am

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Reuters: Sri Lankan stocks jumped 1.6 per cent on Thursday to a more than three-week high on institutional buying of blue-chips stocks like John Keells Holdings PLC in an oversold market after the central bank kept policy rates steady.

The Central Bank held the key policy rates unchanged on Wednesday.

The main index rose 1.61 per cent or 78.23 points to end at 4,923.02, its highest since 28 May.

“The market’s upward movement was quite overdue because it was oversold,” Danushka Samarasinghe, Research Head at TKS Securities, told Reuters.

The market fell 10.8 per cent in May due to economic and political worries. It has recovered two per cent in June.

Market heavyweight and the top conglomerate John Keells Holdings gained 2.14 per cent to Rs. 186, while top private lender Commercial Bank of Ceylon gained 0.4 per cent to Rs. 100.90.

Analysts, however, said economic worries, in particular concern about rupee volatility, remained, resulting in thin trading volume. The day’s turnover was Rs. 427.8 million ($ 3.24 million), the highest since 7 June, but less than the daily average of Rs. 943 rupees this year.

Foreign investors were net sellers of Rs. 4.23 million worth of shares.

The rupee ended barely changed at 132.00/132.10 against the dollar from Wednesday’s close of 131.90/132.10. It hit an all time low of 133.60 on Tuesday on importer dollar demand.

On Thursday, Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundera told Reuters the rupee had hit its low and would stabilise around 125 per dollar in the medium term.

Analysts said currency dealers were waiting to see the outcome of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission meeting Government and Central Bank officials for talks on the last tranche of a $ 2.6 billion loan.

The IMF, which has long pressed the Central Bank to allow flexibility in the rupee exchange rate, is expected to release the last tranche of the loan – about $ 420 million – if it is satisfied with economic performance.

The currency has depreciated 16.4 per cent since 21 November, when the Government allowed a three per cent devaluation.
http://www.ft.lk/2012/06/15/stocks-at-three-week-high-rupee-steady/