IT and materials drag Sri Lankan shares lower

Sri Lankan shares closed lower on Friday, dragged by information technology and material stocks.

The CSE All-Share index settled 1.82% lower at 15,373.35 points.

Harischandra Mills and The Nuwara Eliya Hotels Company were the top losers by index points, down 300 points and 109.25 points, respectively, on the day.

Trading volume on the index rose to 218.16 million shares from 123.80 million shares in the previous session.

IT and materials lift Sri Lankan shares higher

The equity market’s turnover fell to 3.17 billion Sri Lankan rupees from 3.83 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net buyers, purchasing stocks worth 195.56 million rupees, while domestic investors were net sellers, offloading shares worth 3.14 billion rupees, the data showed.