Sri Lankan shares end higher as industrials, financials gain

Sri Lankan shares ended higher on Wednesday, boosted by gains in industrial and financial stocks.

The CSE All Share index rose 0.96% to 8,950.01, snapping a two-day losing streak.

Sri Lanka’s trade deficit in December narrowed to $358 million from $1.09 billion a year earlier, while merchandise exports and imports declined 7.7% and 36.4%, respectively, data from the Sri Lankan central bank late on Tuesday showed.

The trading volume on the CSE All Share index fell to 60.2 million from 77.8 million in the previous session.

Sri Lankan shares end lower as financials weigh

The equity market’s turnover fell to 1.54 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($4.24 million), from 1.72 billion rupees on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net buyers in the equity market, purchasing stocks worth 250.3 million rupees, while domestic investors were net sellers, offloading 1.54 billion rupees worth of shares, the data showed.