COLOMBO: Sri Lankan stocks eased slightly on Tuesday on mild selling by retail investors on continuing political uncertainty ahead of the presidential election early next year.
At 0728 GMT, the main stock index was down 0.38 percent, or 27.44 points, at 7,248.24, hovering near its lowest since Sept. 5 hit on Thursday.
"Retail activities pushing the market up and down in small quantities," said a stockbroker on condition of anonymity. "The panic that was there earlier is not there anymore and investors are taking positions slowly."
Nine loyalists from President Mahinda Rajapaksa's United People's Freedom Alliance, including Health Minister Mithripala Sirisena, have defected since Rajapaksa announced a snap poll last week. Sirisena has resigned to contest against Rajapaksa as the consensus candidate of a united opposition.
Speculation over more defections after the latest crossover was seen over the weekend weighed on sentiment, analysts said. Turnover stood at 538.7 million rupees ($4.10 million), with 60.1 million shares changing hands.
Four-day rupee forwards traded a tad firmer on dollar sales by exporters and banks, dealers said.
The spot currency and three-day forwards, or spot-next, were not traded after the central bank capped the currency at predetermined levels to prevent volatility.
Central bank officials were not available for comment.
Dealers said four-day forwards, or spot-next-next, were actively traded, and were quoted at 131.75/80 per dollar at 0650 GMT compared to Monday's close of 131.80/90.
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