Sri Lanka shares end lower as industrials, financials weigh

BENGALURU: Sri Lankan shares closed lower on Friday, dragged by losses in industrial and financial stocks.

The CSE All Share index settled down 0.5% at 11,207.11, falling for two straight sessions.

For the week, the index declined 1.73%.

On Thursday, the country’s central bank kept key interest rates unchanged at 11% and 12%, respectively, in a surprise move but announced caps on lending rates in some segments to ensure policy loosening done so far filters through to the economy.

Sri Lanka shares end lower after central bank keeps rates steady

The median estimate in a Reuters poll of 15 economists and analysts predicted a 100-basis-point cut in both the standing deposit facility rate and the standing lending facility rate.

John Keells Holdings Plc and Commercial Bank of Ceylon Plc were the top losers on the CSE All Share, falling 3.58% and 4.66%, respectively.

Trading volume on the index fell to 52.9 million shares, from 74.8 million in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover fell to 2 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($6.18 million), from 2.43 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 137.4 million rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth 1.93 billion rupees, the data showed.