Sri Lankan shares edged up on Monday after two sessions of falls, led by gains in financials in low trading volume as investors were in a wait-and-see mode amid a weakening rupee and high interest rates, brokers said. The main stock index ended 0.13 percent, or 8.95 points, firmer at 7,162.44. Turnover stood at 696.6 million rupees ($4.99 million), well below this year's daily average of 1.13 billion rupees.
"Investors are worried about the policy and strategies of the government," said Danushka Samarasinghe, head of research at Softlogic Securities. Investors are waiting for the budget and how the new government is going to bridge the budget deficit, Samarasinghe added. "Investors are also expecting further depreciation in the rupee, which could be a reason for them to holding back." The rupee touched an all-time low of 140.00 per dollar on Monday due to importer dollar demand, although it later regained some of the losses after a state bank sold dollars to arrest the fall, dealers said.
The weaker rupee curbed investor risk appetite and rising market interest rates also hit sentiment with t-bill yields at more than five-month high. Foreign investors were net buyers of 289.9 million rupees worth shares on Monday, but they have been net sellers of 3 billion rupees worth of equities so far this year. The country's biggest listed lender, Commercial Bank of Ceylon Plc, rose 1.14 percent and Lanka ORIX Leasing Company Plc gained 0.19 percent. Conglomerate John Keells Holdings Plc fell 0.57 percent.