Sri Lankan shares end at record high as industrials gain

Sri Lankan shares closed at a record high for a second straight session on Thursday, helped by gains in industrial and consumer staple stocks.

The CSE All-Share index settled 0.46% higher at 9,671 points, after scaling an all-time high of 9,687.95 points earlier in the day.

Conglomerates Carson Cumberbatch Plc and Expolanka Holdings Plc were among the top boosts to the index, rising 9.5% and 1.3%, respectively.

The equity market's turnover was about 3.50 billion rupees ($17.59 million), according to stock exchange data.

Sri Lankan shares end at record high as financials gain

Trading volume on the exchange fell to 239 million shares from nearly 296.7 million shares in the previous session.

Foreign investors were net sellers in the equity market, offloading shares worth about 88.3 million rupees, as per exchange data.

Separately, the World Bank said on Thursday the country's economy will grow by a modest 3.3% in 2021, well below the 7.1% expansion projected for South Asia as a whole, and called for urgent action to address debt risks and rising poverty.

The island-nation reported 776 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 522,778, data from the country's health bureau showed.

It reported 43 fatalities due to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 13,185, according to the data.

About 54.89% of the country's population is fully vaccinated so far, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.