Communication services, financials drag down Sri Lankan shares

Sri Lankan shares closed lower on Monday, dragged by communication services and financial stocks.

The CSE All-Share index settled 0.3% lower at 20,079.55 points.

Dialog Axiata and Commercial Bank of Ceylon were among the biggest drags, down 1.6% and 0.8%, respectively, on the day.

Trading volume on the index rose to 54.5 million shares from 48.6 million shares in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover dipped to 921.2 million Sri Lankan rupees ($2.77 million) from 958.6 million rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 22.4 million rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth 899.7 million rupees, the data showed.