Market moves up on peace hopes

MARKET: The market went up sharply yesterday as institutional, retail and high net worth investors were on a buying spree. The ASPI gained an impressive 2.7 percent while the Milanka Price Index increased by 2.9 percent yesterday with investor interest seemed to be spread across the board.

The turnover was healthy with Rs. 565 million and the market capitalization rose to Rs. 706 billion, an increase of Rs. 17 billion. Analysts said yesterday's market performance was due to the positive news from the political front.

"There was expectation among investors that the Government and the LTTE would agree on a fresh round of peace talks to solve the national issue," Dimuthu Abeysekara, Director/CEO of Asha Philip Stock Brokers said.

Angelo Ranasinghe of Bartleet Mallory Stock Brokers said that yesterday's market performance proved that peace play a key role as far as investment confidence is concerned. "The rekindling of the peace process would no doubt take the market to dizzy heights," Ranasinghe said.

Trading of over 2.8 million shares of Nation Trust Bank, 1.4 million shares of Sri Lanka Telecom were among the highlights of yesterday's trading.

(CK)