Colombo stocks finish higher for second straight week, JKH up 4%

July 20, 2018 (LBO) - The Colombo Stock Exchange closed higher for the second straight week.  After several consecutive weeks of decline, the major indices have managed to string together back to back weeks of gains. The All Share Price Index (ASPI) was up close to 1% and the S&P SL 20 was up close to 2% on the week. Blue chip and index heavyweight John Keells Holdings (JKH) was up 4.3% on the week pulling both indices higher. Turnover was light for the week at Rs2.14bn (US$13.5mn), and particularly poor today (Friday) with just Rs207mn (US$1.3mn) worth of shares traded. For the year 2018, the ASPI is down 2.8% and the S&P SL 20 is down 7.4%.  The trend of foreign selling continued with net foreign sales of US$660,000 on the week.  Year to date foreigners have been net sellers of over US$200mn worth of stocks and bonds putting pressure on the LKR.