Sri Lankan shares close down

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan shares closed lower on Friday, extending losses for a fifth straight session, dragged down by utility stocks.

The CSE All-Share index settled 0.17 percent lower at 19,684.91 points.

The index dropped 2.52 percent over the week, its fourth straight weekly fall.

Dialog Axiata Plc and Carson Cumberbatch Plc were the biggest decliners on the index, down 9.7 percent and 9.1 percent, respectively, on the day.

Trading volume on the index fell to 31.5 million shares from 64.3 million shares in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover dipped to 825.1 million Sri Lankan rupees ($2.48 million) from 1.10 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.