Sri Lankan equity benchmark rises

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan shares closed higher on Monday, led by healthcare and real estate stocks. The CSE All Share index settled up 0.65 percent at 22,695.

SMB Finance PLC and HDFC Bank of Sri Lanka were top percentage gainers on the index, rising 50 percent and 19.88 percent, respectively. Trading volume on the index fell to 90.2 million shares from 155.8 million in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover rose to 4.81 billion Sri Lankan rupees (USD15.1 million) from 3.44 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.