Sri Lankan shares inch up as utilities stocks rise

BENGALURU: Sri Lankan shares settled higher on Friday, fueled by gains in utilities stocks.

The CSE All-Share index ended 0.44% higher at 11,303.22 points. However, it logged a weekly decline of about 1%.

Lanka Ashok Leyland and Sathosa Motors were the top gainers on the benchmark index, rising 4.9% and 5.9%, respectively. Trading volume on the index rose to 17.1 million shares from 18.7 million shares in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover climbed to 403.4 million rupees ($1.3 million) from 629.3 million rupees, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net buyers, purchasing stocks worth 35.1 million rupees, while domestic investors were net sellers, offloading shares worth around 392.5 million rupees, the data showed.