Sri Lankan shares edged down on Friday from a one-month high on retail profit-taking as optimism over the extension of the cutoff for margin trading evaporated, while the rupee ended steady. Sri Lanka's main share index closed 0.11 percent or 7.98 points weaker at 7,479.63, slipping from its highest close since April 19.
On Thursday, the market gained 1.7 percent after the Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) extended a deadline to phase out margin trading to the end of the year from an earlier end-June cutoff. The market heavyweight and the island nation's top conglomerate John Keells Holdings lost 1 percent before posting its March quarter earnings, which were down 3 percent year-on-year. Keells also announced its board of directors has resolved to pay 1 rupee a share final dividend for the financial year ended on March 31 and recommended three-for-four share split. Foreign investors were net sellers for 921.9 million rupees' worth of shares on Friday.