Sri Lankan shares log fifth straight session of losses

Sri Lankan shares closed lower for the fifth straight session on Thursday, dragged down by losses across sectors except communication services and energy stocks.

The CSE All-Share Index settled 1.48% lower at 16,818.21. The index has dropped nearly 5% in the past five sessions.

Industrial Asphalts and Greentech Energy were top percentage losers on the benchmark index, down 25% and 7.7%, respectively.

Trading volume on the index fell to 139.4 million shares from 181.2 million shares in the previous session.

Broad-based losses drag Sri Lankan shares lower

The equity market’s turnover dropped to 3.32 billion Sri Lankan rupees (about $11 million) from 3.9 billion rupees in the previous session according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net buyers, purchasing stocks worth 136 million rupees, while domestic investors were net sellers, offloading shares worth 3.26 billion rupees, the data showed.