Sri Lankan shares suffered a third straight day of losses on Tuesday, led by a slump in conglomerate Expolanka Holdings.
The CSE All-Share index settled 3.37% lower at 8,744.61, its lowest since Aug. 29. The index had seen its worst weekly loss since early April on Friday. The market was shut on Monday for a holiday.
The president’s office of the crisis-struck nation said on Tuesday it would request the World Bank to grant it some loans generally offered to poorer nations even as it remained a middle-income country.
Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka’s cabinet spokesperson said the government would seek to change its economic status to “low income country” for easier funding.
The CSE All-Share index is down around 12% so far this month after a three-month rally, and has fallen seven of the last eight sessions.
Expolanka Holdings was the biggest drag on the index on Tuesday, tumbling 13.2% to its lowest since late-April. The stock is down 33% so far this month.
Sri Lankan shares post worst weekly fall since April as industrials decline
Financial conglomerate LOLC Holdings slid 7.6%, while energy major Lanka IOC PLC sank 8%.
Trading volume on the CSE All-Share index was at 91.3 million shares on Tuesday, compared to 69.7 million shares in the previous session.
The equity market turnover was 3.04 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($8.40 million), according to exchange data.
Foreign investors were net buyers in the equity market, purchasing 864.1 million rupees of shares, while domestic investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 3 billion rupees, data showed.
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