Shares end up after rates unchanged

REUTERS: Sri Lankan shares ended up 1 percent yesterday, helped by a surge in industrial and consumer stocks, after the Central Bank held interest rates steady.

The CSE All-Share index (.CSE) closed up 1.06 percent at 11,025.73 points.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) left the standing deposit facility rate and the standing lending facility rate unchanged at 5.00 percent and 6.00 percent, respectively, as expected by five out of 12 analysts in a Reuters poll.  

Industrial investment company Browns Investment Plc was the top boost, rising 10.92 percent.

The equity market’s turnover was Rs.9.98 billion (US$ 49.41 million) according to stock exchange data.

Trading volume on the exchange rose to 459.28 million shares from 316.8 million shares in the previous session.

Foreign investors were net sellers in the equity market, offloading shares worth about Rs.1.02 billion, as per exchange data.

The island nation reported 745 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 559,605, data from the country’s health bureau showed.

The total death toll was at 14,205, according to the data.

About 62.93 percent of the country’s population is fully vaccinated so far, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.