Sri Lankan shares ended lower on Thursday, as losses among financial and consumer staples stocks weighed on overall sentiment.

The benchmark CSE All Share Index closed 0.17% lower at 5,350.85.

Among the session's top drags, Ceylinco Insurance Plc <CINS.CM shed 10.6%, while plantation manager Carson Cumberbatch Plc fell 7.6%.

Telecom operator Dialog Axiata Plc rose 0.9% and was among the biggest boosts.

Trading volume on the CSE All Share Index halved to 71.6 million from 144.9 million in the previous session.

Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading 68.5 million Sri Lankan rupees ($369,670.80) worth of shares.

Equity market turnover was 1.12 billion Sri Lankan rupees, exchange data showed.

The Sri Lankan rupee was last quoted at 185.30 against the dollar, according to Refinitiv data.