Sri Lanka stocks gain for 1st time in 5 sessions

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s stock market recouped the losses and gained on Monday for the first time in five sessions, ending the month with a 6.4 percent gain, but analysts expect economic concerns to drag the market until the government comes with a sustainable solution for looming debt crisis.

The main All Share Price Index closed 1.14 percent or 146.36 points higher on Monday to close at 13,009.50 points. It had fallen to its lowest since January 4 on Friday as it lost for the fourth straight session.

Foreign investors, who are highly worried about possible sharp depreciation or devaluation in the currency, sold a net of 202.8 million rupees.

The foreign sales so far this year has been 2.7 billion rupees. In 2021, the Sri Lanka stock market suffered a net foreign outflow of 50 billion rupees.

The market has made a gain of 6.4 percent in January though it suffered a weekly loss of 3.8 percent last week.