Sri Lanka stocks close up 1.56-pct

Oct 29, (LBO) - Sri Lanka's stocks closed up Friday, with gains in banking sector stocks owing to buying by institutional and high-net-worth individual investors, brokers said.

The Colombo All Share Index rose 1.56 percent (102.31 points) to 6,678.05 points, while the Milanka Index of more liquid stocks rose 1.

81 percent (129.07 points) to 7,241.77 point according to provisional Colombo Stock Exchange data.

Turnover was 2.65 billion rupees.

"A lot of interest was seen in index heavy stocks in the banking sector," Rakshitha Perera of Bartleet Mallory Stockbrokers said.

Investors were reacting to the central bank decision to halve the general provision on loans to 0.

50 percent by December 2011 from the current one percent at a rate of 0.1 percent per quarter.

Index heavy Commercial Bank closed at 268.

00 rupees, up 9.40 rupees while DFCC Bank closed at 465.



00 rupees, up 2.70 and HNB closed at 418.00 rupees, up 10.20.

Dialog Axiata closed flat at 12.

30 rupees, with one million shares traded.