Bourse ends week on high note

Channa KASTURISINGHE

COLOMBO: The stock market ended the week on a positive note which continued since the Local Government elections on March 30.

Indices gained throughout the week and foreign as well as local investors were in a buying spree and their confidence seemed to have boosted since the victory of the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA).

Yesterday, the All Share Price Index gained 13.95 points to close at 2357.84 points and the Milanka Price Index moved up by 21.97 points to close at 2958.86.

The market turnover was Rs. 348 million with 10 million shares being traded. The market capitalisation rose by an impressive 28 billion by the end of the week.

On the previous Friday, it was recorded at Rs.688 billion and increased to Rs. 716 billion by yesterday. The turnover levels were healthy throughout the week and moved close to Rs. 1 billion mark on Wednesday.

Analysts said the healthy turnover levels were mainly due to active participation of local investors who were waiting to enter the market until they heard positive news from the political front.

However, the foreign investors continued to be active and their interest was mostly in the telecom sector.

About 4.5 million shares of Dialog shares changed hands on Thursday and nearly one million shares were traded yesterday. The share price moved up to Rs. 20.50 by Friday.