Reuters - ** Sri Lanka's rupee
ended slightly firmer on Thursday due to exporter dollar sales,
while a trade union strike at customs dampened importer demand
for the greenback.

** Stocks snapped a five-session winning streak to end lower as
foreign investors exited from risky assets.

** A strike by Sri Lanka customs officers that left 6,000
containers stranded at the country's main port and put pressure
on food prices, had dampened the demand for dollars from
importers.

** The rupee closed at 177.65/85 per dollar, compared with
Wednesday's close of 177.70/178.00, market sources said.
** Rupee posted a weekly gain of 2.8 percent last week as
exporters converted dollars and foreign investors purchased
government securities after a statement from the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and government's $1 billion debt repayment
boosted confidence.

** The currency has appreciated 2.8 percent so far this year.
** Investor confidence in Sri Lanka is stabilising after the
country repaid a $1 billion sovereign bond in mid-January,
Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy said
last week.

** Worries over heavy debt repayment after a 51-day political
crisis that resulted in a series of credit rating downgrades
dented investor sentiment as the county is struggling to repay
its foreign loans, with a record $5.9 billion due this year,
including $2.6 billion in the first three months.

** The rupee dropped 16 percent in 2018, and was one of the
worst-performing currencies in Asia due to heavy foreign
outflows.

** The political crisis had dented investor sentiment and
delayed Sri Lanka's borrowing plans. Sri Lanka had plunged into
political turmoil when President Maithripala Sirisena abruptly
removed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and then dissolved
parliament. Wickremesinghe was later reinstalled as premier. A
court ruled the dissolution was unconstitutional.

** The Colombo Stock Index ended 0.04 percent firmer at
5,959.79 on Thursday, edging up from its lowest close since Jan.
23 hit on Wednesday. Stocks declined 1 percent in January.

** Turnover was 797 million rupees ($4.49 million), less than
last year's daily average of 834 million rupees.

** Foreign investors net sold 685.1 million rupees worth shares
on Thursday. They have been net sellers of 3.4 billion rupees
worth of stocks so far this year, and 16.8 billion rupees since
the political crisis began on Oct. 26, 2018.

** The bond market saw inflows of 924.7 million rupees in the
week ended Jan. 30, the latest central bank data showed.