Sri Lanka's stock market fell in low volumes and turnover on Friday to over five-week lows as investors cashed in for upcoming IPOs and forced selling by brokers in line with a directive by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The island's main share index fell 0.96 percent or 70.90 points weaker at 7,313.02, to a more than five-week low. It hit a record closing high of 7,811.82 on February 14.
Investors have been selling shares to buy into upcoming initial public offerings along with the fears over political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa. The market fell in the first three days of the week as stockbrokers sold to collect debts in line with an SEC directive to stop credit transactions by June 30 and reduce brokers' current debtors' positions by at least 50 percent by March 31. Foreign investors were net sellers for 36.22 million rupees worth of shares on Friday.