Consumer staple, financial stocks lift Sri Lankan shares

Sri Lankan shares closed higher on Thursday, led by consumer staple and financial stocks.

The CSE All-Share index settled 1.5% higher at 20,267.15 points, recording its third consecutive session of gains.

Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka and Hatton National Bank were the biggest boosts to the index, up 4.81% and 2.13%, respectively, on the day.

Trading volume on the index rose to 117.4 million shares from 67.4 million shares in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover rose to 2.27 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($6.83 million) from 2.17 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 36.7 million rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth 2.26 billion rupees, the data showed.