Sri Lankan shares end lower, pressured by industrials, financials

Sri Lankan shares ended lower on Monday, dragged by losses in industrial and financial stocks.

The CSE All Share index fell 0.77% to 8,958.79, marking its worst day since Jan. 24.

Conglomerate Expolanka Holdings and LOLC Holdings were the biggest drags to the index, down 3.4% and 2.7%, respectively, according to Refinitiv data.

Sri Lanka’s economy could contract by 3.5% or 4.0% in 2023, after shrinking 11% last year, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Saturday.

Data on the Colombo Consumer Price Index, due on Tuesday, will be closely monitored. It acts as a lead indicator for broader national prices and shows how inflation is evolving in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s biggest city.

The trading volume of shares for the CSE All Share index rose to 96.4 million from 58.1 million in the previous session.

Sri Lankan shares end higher as industrials, consumer staples gain

The equity market’s turnover fell to 1.66 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($4.57 million) from 1.94 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net buyers in the equity market, purchasing stocks worth 140.3 million rupees, while domestic investors were net sellers, offloading 1.61 billion rupees worth of shares, the data showed.