Sri Lankan shares end little changed

Sri Lankan shares closed nearly unchanged on Thursday in thin trade as investors turned cautious ahead of the national budget, which proposed revisions to corporate and withholding taxes to boost revenue and cut the country's fiscal deficit target. The benchmark index of the Colombo Stock Exchange ended 0.05 percent higher, or up 3.23 points, at 6,420.78. The index hit its lowest close since November 1 on Wednesday. Turnover stood at 294.3 million rupees ($2.00 million), well below this year's daily average of 711.3 million rupees.