Sri Lankan shares ended Tuesday slightly firmer from the previous session's 11-week low, snapping a losing streak over three straight sessions, helped by foreign buying of bluechips. Foreign investors were net buyers of 40.3 million rupees worth of shares on Tuesday, but they have been net sellers of 3.07 billion rupees worth of shares this year. The main stock index closed up 0.1 percent, or 6.74 points firmer, at 7,085.38, edging up from its lowest close in nearly 11 weeks in the previous session.
"The market was pushed up on low volumes. But the buying is not that prevalent," said Dimantha Mathew, a research manager at First Capital Equities (Pvt) Ltd. Shares of Nestle Lanka Plc rose 3.96 percent while Sri Lanka Telecom Plc rose 2.30 percent. Turnover was 816.3 million rupees ($5.78 million), less than this year's daily average of 1.11 billion. Turnover has been roughly half of this year's daily average since August 31, stock exchange data showed.