Sri Lankan shares closed higher on Wednesday, helped by gains in consumer staples and communication services stocks.

The CSE All Share index rose 0.15% to 9,160.25.

Sri Lanka’s National Consumer Price Index eased year-on-year to 53.2% in January, following a 59.2% rise in December, the statistics department said after markets closed on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka Telecom PLC and Nestle Lanka PLC were the biggest boosts to the index, up 3.5% and 6.6%, respectively, according to Refinitiv data.

The trading volume on the CSE All Share index rose to 78.8 million shares from 69.5 million in the previous session.

Sri Lankan shares end higher as country to repay $2.6bn in loans

The equity market’s turnover fell to 1.81 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($5.00 million) from 2.42 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net sellers in the equity market, offloading stocks worth about 451.3 million rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing 1.77 billion rupees worth of shares, the data showed.