Sri Lankan shares gain on financials, industrials boost

BENGALURU: Sri Lankan shares closed higher on Monday for a fourth straight session, helped by gains in financial and industrial stocks.

The CSE All-Share Index closed 0.95% higher at 7,403.44.

Conglomerates LOLC Holdings and John Keells Holdings Plc were the two biggest boosts to the index, rising 4.7% and 1.5%, respectively.

Sri Lanka has reported 183,452 total confirmed coronavirus cases and 1,441 deaths as of Monday, according to health ministry data.

All airports in the island nation will reopen tomorrow, with the maximum number of passengers in a flight at 75, Sri Lanka's state minister of aviation said on Monday.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's consumer prices rose 1.1% month-over-month in May, after a 0.1% fall in April, according to data from the statistics department.

Separately, ratings agency S&P Global Ratings affirmed Sri Lanka at 'CCC+/C', and said while the economy is likely to expand modestly this year, uncertainty over the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic threatens the recovery.

Trading volumes fell to 119.6 million from 147.7 million in the previous session.

Foreign investors were net sellers in the equity market, offloading shares worth 425.6 million rupees ($2.16 million), according to exchange data.

Equity market turnover was 3.34 billion rupees, exchange data showed.