Sri Lankan shares log nine-session winning streak as industrials climb

08 Dec, 2022

Sri Lankan shares gained for a ninth straight session on Thursday, their longest winning streak since mid-August, supported by a strong performance in industrial stocks.

At the close of trade, the CSE All Share index climbed 0.12% at 8,891.74. The market was closed on Wednesday for a holiday.

Global lenders, including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the IMF, were planning coordinated assistance to help the crisis-hit country, the Sri Lankan government said on Tuesday.

The island of 22 million people is facing its worst financial crisis in more than seven decades, caused by an acute dollar shortage that has left it struggling to pay for imports of food, fuel and medicine.

On the CSE All Share index, Richard Pieris & Company and Sri Lanka Telecom were the biggest boosts, rising 11.4% and 2.9%, respectively.

Financial stocks LOLC Development Finance and LOLC Finance weighed on the index, falling 5.1% and 4.7%, respectively.

Sri Lankan shares extend gains on industrials, consumer boost

Trading volume fell to 119.7 million shares from 149.8 million in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover fell to 2.40 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($6.61 million) from 3.12 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net buyers in the equity market, purchasing stocks worth 211.6 million rupees, while domestic investors were net sellers who offloaded 2.32 billion rupees worth of shares, the data showed.

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