Communications, consumer discretionary stocks drag Sri Lankan shares lower

Sri Lankan shares closed lower on Wednesday, dragged by communications and consumer discretionary stocks.

The CSE All-Share index settled 1.4% lower at 19,796.06 points.

Dialog Axiata and Carson Cumberbatch were the biggest drag on the index, down 2.98% and 4.86%, respectively, on the day.

Trading volume on the index rose to 101.8 million shares from 78.9 million shares in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover rose to 1.9 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($5.74 million) from 1.15 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 46.5 million rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth 1.86 billion rupees, the data showed.