Sri Lankan stocks recovered from its near seven-month low in thin trade on Friday as forced selling eased as first-half settlements on credit transaction were accomplished, but low liquidity weighed. Sri Lanka's main share index edged up 0.27 percent or 18.77 points to 6,844.71, from its lowest close since January 6.
It had shed 7.6 percent in June alone mainly due to forced selling, in line with the policy of the regulator Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to recover credits, aiming to eliminate all credit dealing by end 2011. The bourse is still up 3.15 percent so far this year. It was the Asia-Pacific's top performer in 2010 and 2009 with 96 percent and 125 percent returns, respectively. Over 6 billion Sri Lankan rupees has been still locked up in the two recent initial public offerings. Foreign investors were net sellers of 145.6 million rupees worth of shares on Friday, and have sold a 7.5 billion rupees in 2011 after a record 26.4 billion in 2010.
The day's turnover was 1.4 billion Sri Lanka rupees ($12.7 million), well below last year's average of 2.4 billion and this year's daily average of 2.84 billion. Traded volume was 54.5 million, lowest since May 11, against a five-day average of 77.5 million. The 30-day and 90-day average trading volumes were 184.4 million and 104.1 million, respectively. Last year's daily average was 67.9 million.
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