Colombo shares gain in anticipation of new regulator chief being appointed

  The Colombo Bourse which started off on a negative note on Thursday however, recovered to end the trading session on positive territory  on the back of speculation that a new regulator was being appointed. Expectations were running high that Thilak Karunaratne, who quit as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission under duress some years ago, was being recalled to the position, analysts said. Commission chairman Nalaka Godahewa has refused to step down despite being instructed by the government to quit. The benchmark All Share gained 5.19 points to close at 7,329.59 points while the S&P SL 20 index gained 4.17 points to close at 4,107.82 points. The market witnessed the participation of retailers as well as institutional and high net worth investors during the day. Interest was seen on the banking sector counters such as Commercial Bank and NDB with blue chip counters such as JKH and IOC also gaining interest during the day. Foreign investors emerged net buyers, generating a net foreign inflow of Rs 86.6 million with turnover rising to Rs 1.19 million. Price losers outnumbered gainers with 109 counters declining and only 67 counters appreciating in price. .