Milanka index falls below 2,000, first time in 4 years
2008-10-28 11:54:06

The Milanka Index which measures blue chips at the Colombo bourse fell below 2,000 points – for the first time in four years – during mid-day trade on Tuesday, brokers said. At 11.45 am, the index was pegged at 1,999.95, down 62.50 points from Friday’s level.The markets were closed on Monday due to the Deepavali holiday.

Trading opened on Tuesday during a short 4-day week on panic selling by retailers. “The retailers are selling heavily, because they are worried that share prices will further drop. They want to get out before it is too late,” Vajira Premawardhana, Executive Director, Lanka Orix Securities said, adding that the stock market will see more of this trned in coming weeks. He also said that some shares bought by the retailers on credit are being forced sold by their brokering firms.

The All Share Index was down by 47.5 points to 1,783.25 in early trade. Turnover was Rs 51 million. The last time the Milanka was below 2,000 was in 2004.