Colombo shares in early gains Friday on positive news over port project

  Colombo shares showed early gains on Friday with media reports of President Maithripala Sirisena promising the Chinese government that Sri Lanka intends to resume the contentious port project after problems are "sorted". “This was a sore point in the share market, where questions were being raised about Sri Lanka halting the US$1.4 billion port city project, which was damaging ties with China. Many investors were questioning this move and it impacted the market negatively in the past months,” an analyst said. He said that suspending this project would deter foreign investors. The core index, the All Share increased marginally by 0.16 per cent by 11 am to stand at 6,916.43 while S&P SL 20 index was up by 0.07 per cent to record 3,928 on Rs. 114 million turnover. Analysts however added that the indices are still volatile and inclined to fall by midday.