Sri Lankan stocks rose on Monday as retailers picked up hotel sector shares expecting record tourist arrivals as a two-year cease-fire that ended two decades of civil war continues to hold, brokers said. The key Colombo all-share index ended up 0.11 percent, or 1.56 points, at 1,443.26.
The bourse has gained almost 36 percent so far this year. The milanka index - which tracks the most liquid and highly capitalised stocks - rose 0.21 percent, or 4.49 points, to 2,139.39.
The hotels and travel index ended up 3 percent, or 32.57 points, at 1,118.67. "The hotel sector is doing well because investors are happy that there is no negative news on the peace process," said one broker.
The Tamil Tiger rebels' two-decade war for autonomy was halted by a 2002 cease-fire, but it has yet to be converted into a permanent peace.
The broker said that increased tourist arrivals in August boosted investor confidence in the hotels sector. In August, tourist arrivals were up 15.6 percent against the same month in 2003.
The Sri Lanka Tourist Board has forecast about 550,000 arrivals by the end of this year, up from a record high of 500,642 last year.
Marawila Resorts Ltd rose 27.03 percent to 11.75 rupees. Eden Hotel Lanka Ltd ended 8.57 percent higher at 19 rupees.
Hotel Reefcomber Ltd rose 9.3 percent to 11.75 rupees. Total market turnover was 273.21 million rupees with 92 million rupees of foreign purchases and 21 million rupees of foreign selling.
Comments
Comments are closed.