Shares end higher led by large-caps

REUTERS: Sri Lankan shares rose for a third straight session yesterday led by large-caps on positive sentiment after the central bank left rates steady earlier this week. However, analysts said investors were cautious and awaited the outcome of a loan deal with the International Monetary Fund. The benchmark stock index ended up 0.13 percent at 6,442.53, its highest close since Jan. 14. “It looks like new phase of wind blowing through the market. The negativity is fading away and buying is coming in slowly,” said Reshan Kurukulasuriya, Chief Operating Officer at Richard Pieris Securities Pvt Ltd. The Central Bank kept benchmark rates steady on Tuesday, as expected, as it gauges the effect of the recent tightening amid final stages of talks with the IMF for a $1.5-billion loan to tide over a payments crisis. Yields on short-term government securities were also steady at a weekly auction on Wednesday.