Sri Lankan shares end lower as industrials, financials weigh

Sri Lankan shares ended lower on Monday, hit by losses in industrials and financials stocks.

The CSE All Share index fell 1.65% to 8,790.72, marking its worst day since Nov. 24.

The island nation, caught in the worst economic turmoil since independence from Britain in 1948, has sought a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund.

India, the third major creditor to Sri Lanka, agreed to support the country’s debt restructuring last month.

Sri Lankan shares close lower as industrials, consumer staples fall

Expolanka Holdings and Dialog Axiata were the biggest drags to the index, down 5.1% and 7.3%, respectively, according to Refinitiv data.

The trading volume on the CSE All-Share index rose to 51.4 million shares from 40.3 million in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover fell to 1.27 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($3.52 million) from 1.41 billion rupees on Friday, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net sellers in the equity market, offloading stocks worth 138.3 million rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing 1.19 billion rupees worth of shares, the data showed.