Sri Lankan shares end higher on gains in consumer staples stocks

Sri Lankan shares closed higher on Friday, led by gains in the consumer staples sector.

The CSE All Share index settled up 0.17% at 21,315.91.

Food retail and distribution firm Cargills (Ceylon) PLC and consumer goods conglomerate Hayleys PLC were top gainers on the CSE All Share index, in terms of index points.

Trading volume in the CSE All Share index rose to 66.5 million shares from 27.2 million shares in the previous session.

Turnover rose to 2.20 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($6.71 million) from 796.9 million rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth 850.1 million rupees, while domestic investors were net sellers, offloading shares worth 1.38 billion rupees, the data showed.