Sri Lanka rupee gains: Stocks marginally down

Mar 19, 2019 (LBO) - The Sri Lanka rupee ended firmer at 178.25/40 to the US dollar Monday compared to Friday’s close of 178.40/55 while shares were little changed, brokers said. 'Inflows from a sale of US 2.4 billion dollar sovereign bond are expected to boost the rupee,' brokers said. The rupee has climbed 2.4 percent so far this year but dropped 16 percent in 2018, and was one of the worst-performing currencies in Asia due to heavy foreign outflows, analysts say. The Colombo Stock Exchange index was down by 0.02 percent to 5,614.98 points, Monday at close of day with the index recording its sixth straight weekly drop. The market turnover was 251.4 million rupees (USD 1.41 million). Foreign investors sold a net 40.8 million rupees worth of shares on Monday, extending the year-to-date net foreign outflow of  5.97 billion rupees worth of equities.