Sri Lanka stocks edged up on Monday to their highest close in more than 11 months ahead of the central bank's monetary policy announcement, led by telecoms and financials, while foreign buying boosted sentiment. The main stock index edged up 0.06 percent, or 4.05 points, to 6,319.24, its highest close since June 10 last year.
The central bank will release its monetary policy rates at 0200 GMT on Tuesday. The market broadly expects rates to be left steady at their current multi-year lows. The exchange witnessed net foreign inflows of 178.3 million rupees ($1.4 million) on Monday, extending year-to-date net foreign inflows to 859.8 million. Shares of top mobile phone operator Dialog Axiata ended up 2.1 percent to 9.70 rupees, while Ceylinco Insurance Plc and NDB Capital Holdings Plc gained 6.2 percent each. The market has been on a rising trend since mid-March as many investors were compelled to return to the stock market because low interest rates have made fixed-income assets less attractive, stockbrokers said.