Real estate, tech stocks drag Sri Lankan shares lower

Sri Lankan shares closed lower for a fourth consecutive session on Thursday, weighed down by losses in real estate and technology stocks.

The CSE All-Share index settled 0.5% lower at 21,357.74 points.

Melstacorp Plc and Ceylon Brewing Holdings Plc were the top points losers on the index, down 16.28 points and 8.81 points respectively, on the day.

Trading volume on the index fell slightly to 35.1 million shares from 43.1 million shares in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover rose to 1.45 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($4.42 million) from 972.2 million rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net buyers, purchasing stocks worth 32.15 million rupees, while domestic investors were net sellers, offloading shares worth 1.43 billion rupees, the data showed.