Sri Lanka shares drop as communication services stocks decline

BENGALURU: Sri Lankan shares closed lower on Tuesday, dragged by losses in communication services stocks.

The CSE All Share index dipped 0.48% to 11,785.23, logging losses in eight of the last 10 consecutive sessions.

The communication services sector was down 1.2%.

Sri Lanka will wrap up talks with international bondholders on restructuring $12.5 billion in debt within a few weeks, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said at the Reuters NEXT conference in Singapore.

Sri Lankan shares fall as financial, communication stocks dip

The Nuwara Eliya Hotels Company PLC and Royal Palms Beach Hotels PLC were the top percentage losers on the CSE All Share, falling 10% and 7.6%, respectively.

Trading volume on the CSE All Share index fell to 19 million shares from 32.7 million in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover was at 483.3 million rupees ($1.59 million), down from 657 million rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net buyers, purchasing stocks worth 11.3 million rupees, while domestic investors were net sellers, offloading shares worth 474.6 million rupees, the data showed.