Sri Lankan stocks rose for a fourth straight session on Friday to close at their highest in more than one year, led by large-caps such as Ceylon Tobacco Co Plc amid lower interest rates and continued foreign buying boosting investor sentiment. The main stock index rose 0.56 percent, or 35.33 points, to close at 6,363.49, its highest since June 11, 2013.
Analysts said the market would move sideways in the short term with lesser risk due to lower interest rates, with yields on treasury bills edging down further on Wednesday at a weekly auction. However, analysts said investors are concerned over the recent ethnic violence and possible implications of a government spokesman saying Sri Lanka bought Iran crude via third parties.
Ceylon Tobacco Co rose 5.09 percent to 1,049.80 rupees, while Sri Lanka Telecom Plc rose 2.78 percent to 48 rupees. The bourse saw net foreign inflows of 47.8 million rupees ($366,800) into stocks on Friday, extending foreign inflows so far this year to 6.06 billion rupees. Turnover was 1.13 billion rupees, higher than this year's daily average of 993.8 million rupees. The market has been on a rising trend since late February due to continued foreign buying and lower interest rates.
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