Sri Lanka’s equity and bond markets have seen a foreign outflow of over Rs. 30 billion since the political crisis began on 26 October, latest data shows. The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has seen a net foreign outflow of Rs. 7.7 billion within the past three weeks, with foreigners exiting the market amidst the political turbulence. While the market has seen foreign purchases of Rs. 4.9 billion in this period, foreigners have sold stocks worth Rs. 12.5 billion. On Friday, foreign purchases amounted to Rs. 7,565,810 while foreign sales were Rs. 63,042,648. Total turnover in this period was Rs. 26 billion. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) data showed that the bond market has seen an outflow of around Rs. 23 billion during the crisis, with government securities held by foreigners coming down from Rs. 232,105.19 on 24 October to Rs. 209,180.50 on 14 November. Sri Lanka was suffering outflows even before the crisis began with investors moving to safe haven markets with the strengthening of the US economy. However, the rate of outflows has substantially intensified since late October amidst the uncertainty. Meanwhile, the rupee ended at around 176.50/65 per dollar on Friday, as political uncertainty outweighed the positive impact of a policy rate hike by the Central Bank.