Sri Lankan shares boosted by consumer staples, material stocks

Sri Lankan shares closed higher on Wednesday, helped by gains in consumer staples and material stocks, as the island nation received more doses of COVID-19 vaccines to combat the pandemic.

The CSE All-Share Index ended up 0.29% at 7,564.26. The index has posted gains in 9 sessions out of the last 11.

Sri Lanka reported 2,682 confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday, taking the total to 210,661, while deaths rose by 54 to reach 1,843, according to health ministry data.

The country received another million doses of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, the health ministry said.

Sri Lanka will also get 600,000 doses of AstraZeneca's shot from Japan, the president's media division said, which will be given to those waiting to get their second dose, after the Serum Institute of India failed to deliver the one million doses paid for by the government.

Beer brewer Lion Brewery (Ceylon) Plc and holding company Melstacorp Plc were the top boosts to the index, rising 5.3% and 4.3%, respectively.

Trading volume fell to 84 million from 97.9 million in the previous session.

Foreign investors were net buyers in the equity market, purchasing shares worth 78.1 million rupees ($395,443.04), according to exchange data.

The Sri Lankan rupee was quoted at 197.5 against the US dollar, as of 1129 GMT, 0.25% weaker for the day compared to last session's close of 197, according to Refinitiv data.

Equity market turnover was 1.48 billion rupees, exchange data showed.