Sri Lanka’s rupee strengthened to 299.00/15 against the US dollar in early trading on Thursday, showing an improvement from the previous day’s close of 299.15/25, according to currency dealers.
In the secondary market, treasury bond yields remained largely steady. A bond maturing on December 15, 2026, was quoted at 11.10/20 percent, slightly up from 11.05/30 percent. Bonds maturing in December 2027 and December 2028 were quoted at 12.20/25 percent and 12.95/13.15 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, a bond maturing in June 2029 saw a slight decrease in yield, quoted at 12.95/13.20 percent, down from 13.00/15 percent.
Colombo’s stock market also opened positively, with the All Share Price Index rising by 61.31 points to 11,475, while the S&P SL20 index of more liquid stocks gained 32.82 points, or 1.00 percent, reaching 3,298. Market turnover stood at 31 million rupees as of the report.
(Colombo/Aug 15, 2024)