Shares up ahead of polls

REUTERS: Sri Lankan shares ended firmer yesterday on hopes that political stability after the Aug. 17 parliamentary elections would help boost investor sentiment, brokers said.

The main stock index ended up 0.26 percent at 7,462.34, hovering near its highest close since Jan. 16 hit on Wednesday.

The day’s turnover stood at Rs.1.25 billion ($9.34 million) yesterday, slightly higher than this year’s daily average of Rs.1.13 billion.

Foreign investors were net buyers for the first time in 11 sessions. They bought a net Rs.113.3 million worth of equities yesterday. But they have offloaded a net Rs.1.09 billion worth of shares so far this year.

“We were expecting market to be slow today as well, but it didn’t happen. Everybody is in a positive mood on expectation of a stable government after the election,” said Dimantha Mathew, a research manager at First Capital Equities (Pvt) Ltd.

Shares in Commercial Bank of Ceylon Plc rose 1.63 percent, while Lanka IOC Plc jumped 9.28 percent, pushing the index higher.