Market up

Stocks at the CSE were upbeat with the gains in the plantation sector and selected blue chips pushing up the indices. The ASPI gained 53 points (+3.3%) to close at 1,629, while the more liquid MPI gained 82 points (+4.9%) to close at 1,737. The plantation index gained 9.4%, while the Hotels and Travels index was up 5.3% and the diversified sector was up 3.4%.

The gains in the market were most prominent with the following shares, Udapussellawa Plantations Rs. 5.00 (+28%) to close at Rs. 23.00, Elpitiya Plantations was up Rs. 7.00 (+22%) to close at Rs. 43.00, Madulsima Plantations gained Rs 2.00 (+22%) to close at Rs. 26.50 and Malwatte Valley Plantations was up Rs. 4.50 (+18%) to close at Rs. 26.50 Hotel Developers, which owns the Colombo Hilton, closed up Rs. 7.75 (22%) at Rs. 43.00.

The country's largest conglomerate, John Keells Holdings, gained Rs. 3.00 (5%) to close at Rs. 59.75.

Turnover for the day was Rs. 118 million, with JKH (Rs. 8.4 million), Madulsima Plantations (Rs. 8.2 million) and Malwatte Valley Plantations (Rs. 5 million) being the largest contributors to turnover.