Sri Lanka shares end higher as consumer staples gain; April inflation rises

Sri Lankan shares closed higher on Tuesday, aided by consumer staples and financials stocks.

The CSE All-Share index settled 0.42% higher at 12,362.95.

Sri Lanka’s key inflation rate rose to 1.5% year-on-year in April from 0.9% in March, the statistics department said on Tuesday.

Food prices rose 2.9% in April from 3.8% in March, the Department of Census and Statistics said.

Prices of non-food items rose 0.9% in April from 0.5% in March, with prices remaining low due to a 22% reduction in power tariffs for households implemented in March.

Lion Brewery Plc and Browns Investment Plc were the top gainers on the index, up 5.7% and 4.7%, respectively.

Sri Lanka shares end higher as consumer staples, industrials rise

Trading volume on the index rose to 167.1 million shares from 166.7 million shares in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover fell to 3.84 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($12.9 million) from 4.14 million rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 518.7 million rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth 3.73 billion rupees, the data showed.