REUTERS: Sri Lankan shares fell yesterday, hovering near 2-1/2 month lows, led by large caps such as Nestle Lanka Plc as political uncertainty before parliamentary elections weighed on sentiment.

President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved parliament on Friday and scheduled elections for Aug. 17, in an effort to consolidate power and push through political reforms. The main stock index ended 0.16 percent, or 11.35 points, weaker at 7,020.80, hovering near its lowest close since April 15 hit on Friday.
The day’s turnover was Rs.651.5 million ($4.87 million), well below this year’s daily average of Rs.1.07 billion.

“Still the political situation is not clear. We expect the market to continue on sideways due to political uncertainty,” said Reshan Wediwardana, a research analyst at First Capital Equities (Pvt) Ltd.

The market saw net foreign outflow of Rs.82.1 million yesterday, after suffering net outflows of Rs.4.15 billion over the past 25 sessions.

But foreign investors were net buyers of Rs.1.79 billion worth of shares so far this year. Shares in Nestle Lanka fell 0.03 percent, while Ceylon Theatres Plc declined 2.84 percent.