Sri Lankan shares rose on Wednesday after the island nation’s central bank held rates as widely expected.
The CSE All Share index rose 0.40% to 8,938.06, helped by gains in financial and energy stocks.
Sri Lanka’s central bank held interest rates steady for a third straight meeting on Wednesday, as widely expected, saying the prevailing tight monetary stance is crucial to taming still-high inflation and restoring economic stability.
The Standing Lending Facility rate was held steady at 15.50%, while the Standing Deposit Facility rate was kept unchanged at 14.50%, remaining at their highest levels since August 2001.
“Market rates are adjusting as expected, so there was no need to touch policy rate,” said Udeeshan Jonas, chief strategist at CAL Group.
Sri Lankan shares snap five-day rally
Conglomerate LOLC Holdings and Lanka IOC were the biggest boosts to the index on Wednesday, up 6% and 6.1%, respectively, according to Refinitiv data.
The trading volume for the CSE All Share index rose to 91.7 million shares from 70.6 million in the previous session.
The equity market’s turnover rose to 1.98 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($5.45 million) from 1.49 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.
Foreign investors were net sellers in the equity market, offloading stocks worth 118.5 million rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing 1.93 billion rupees worth of shares, the data showed.
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