Sri Lankan shares closed higher on Monday, helped by financial and consumer staple stocks.

The CSE All Share index settled up 2.23% at 9,014.83, rising for a third straight session.

Sri Lanka lifted import restrictions on 286 items, the Finance Ministry said on Saturday, a fresh sign the South Asian nation is starting to emerge from its worst economic crisis in decades.

Additionally, the government will also slash prices of 60 essential drugs by 16% from this week.

On the CSE All share index, LOLC Finance Plc and LOLC Holdings Plc were the top gainers, rising 11.8% and 7.1%, respectively.

Sri Lankan shares end higher as financials, consumer staples rise

Trading volume rose to 82.4 million shares from 52.7 million shares in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover fell to 1.16 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($3.88 million) from 2.20 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 272.5 million rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth 1.14 billion rupees, the data showed.