Sri Lankan shares closed at an over five-year high on Wednesday, recording gains for a seventh consecutive session, as a rally in consumer staples boosted the benchmark index.

The CSE All Share Index ended up 0.83% at 7,036.76, its highest closing level since November 2015.

The index gained 10.5% in 2020, its best performance since 2014.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka will open airports for commercial tourist flights from January 21, local media reported.

Trading volume on the index rose to 760.1 million on Wednesday from 434.7 million in the previous session.

Browns Investments Plc was the biggest boost to the index, closing 13.7% higher.

Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading 346.6 million Sri Lankan rupees ($248,533.33) worth of shares, according to exchange data.

The Sri Lankan rupee was last quoted at 187.50 against the US dollar as of 1148 GMT, according to Refinitiv data.

Equity market turnover was about 7.16 billion rupees, exchange data showed.