Sri Lankan shares closed lower on Tuesday after hitting record highs earlier in the session, weighed down by industrials and consumer staples companies.

The benchmark stock index ended down 0.33% at 8,665.82, after touching an all-time high of 8798.38 earlier in the session.

The index on Monday had gained for a fourth straight session after local regulatory approval for AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, and is up nearly 28% so far this year.

Trading volume on the CSE All Share Index fell to 828.7 million from 995.6 million in the previous session.

Conglomerate Carson Cumberbatch PLC dropped 6.7%, while John Keells Holdings PLC slid 4.6%.

Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading 442.7 million Sri Lankan rupees ($2.27 million) worth of shares, according to exchange data.

The Sri Lankan rupee was quoted at 195 against the US dollar as of 1136 GMT, 1% stronger for the day compared to last session's close of 197, according to Refinitiv data.

Equity market turnover was 11.44 billion rupees, exchange data showed.