Sri Lanka shares end four-session rally as financials drag

Sri Lankan shares closed lower on Wednesday, falling for the first session in five, dragged by a drop in financial stocks.

The CSE All Share index settled down 0.42% at 15,799.94. It logged its third straight month of losses in April.

Insurance stocks declined 1.25%, financial services stocks fell 1.16% and banks edged 0.88% lower.

Nation Lanka Finance and Serendib Land were the top percentage losers on the CSE All Share, falling 50% and 5.2%, respectively.

Utilities stocks lift Sri Lankan shares

Meanwhile, the island nation’s deputy finance minister said that Colombo has not proposed a specific tariff to the U.S.

Trading volume on the CSE All Share index rose to 124.8 million shares from 109.5 million in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover rose to 2.38 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($8 million) from 2.07 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 244 million rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth 2.22 billion rupees, the data showed.