Sri Lanka shares end higher, boosted by industrials, consumer staples

Sri Lankan shares closed higher on Monday, boosted by industrials and consumer staple stocks.

The CSE All-Share index settled 0.53% higher at 10,850.78, gaining for a fourth straight session.

Sri Lanka’s parliament approved a hike in Value Added Tax (VAT) up to 18% from the current 15% on Monday ahead of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) preparing to approve the second tranche of a $2.9 billion bailout for the crisis-hit country.

Expolanka Holdings Plc and Sri Lanka Telecom Plc were the top gainers on the index, climbing 7.7% and 1.9%, respectively.

Sri Lanka shares end higher as industrials, financials rise

Trading volume on the index fell to 23.2 million shares from 35.1 million shares in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover fell to 776.4 million Sri Lankan rupees ($2.38 million) from 1.09 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net buyers, purchasing stocks worth 113 million rupees, while domestic investors were net sellers, offloading shares worth 712.3 million rupees, the data showed.