Sri Lankan shares closed higher on Friday, supported by gains in communication services and financial stocks, with investor focus turning to the release of the 2023 budget due on Monday.
The CSE All-Share index rose 1.16% to 8,419.06, marking a third straight day of gains. It was, however, down 0.86% for the holiday-shortened week after a steep fall on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka’s new government will release the 2023 budget on Monday focused on boosting revenue, implementing tax reforms and fiscal consolidation to secure an IMF bailout package to help the country recover from its worst financial crisis in decades.
Total spending is expected at 5.9 trillion rupees in 2023, with capital expenditure likely to make up 20.9% of that total.
Sri Lanka’s economy could recover in the “latter part of 2023”, the central bank said recently.
Sri Lankan shares end higher as industrials, consumer staples gain
On Friday, Sri Lanka Telecom PLC and financial service provider LOLC Finance PLC were the top boosts, rising 5.3% and 3%, respectively.
Trading volume on the CSE All-Share index fell to 36.6 million shares from about 67 million in the previous session.
The equity market’s turnover was 862 million Sri Lankan rupees ($2.37 million), according to exchange data.
Foreign investors were net buyers in the equity market, purchasing 93.8 million rupees of shares, while domestic investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 858.9 million rupees, data showed.
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