Sri Lankan shares end lower, snap four-week winning streak

Sri Lankan shares closed lower on Friday, ending the week with losses, as the industrial and materials sectors weighed down the country’s benchmark stock index.

The CSE All-Share index declined 0.4% to 23,812.31 points, down for a second straight session, and snapped a four-week streak of gains with a weekly loss of 0.6%.

Sri Lanka’s Colombo Consumer Price Index rose 2.3% year-on-year in January, following a 2.1% rise in December, according to data published by the Statistics Department after market close.

Conglomerate Softlogic Holdings Plc and Greentech Energy Plc were the biggest losers on the CSE All-Share index, falling 13.8% and 8.3%, respectively.

Trading volume fell to 211.6 million shares from 277.3 million in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover rose to 9.19 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($29.7 million), compared with 6.92 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net sellers of stocks worth 1.86 billion in the equity market, while domestic investors were net buyers of shares worth 9.04 billion rupees, data showed.