Materials and industrials lift Sri Lankan shares

Sri Lankan shares closed higher on Thursday, led by gains in materials and industrials.

The CSE All-Share index settled 0.46% higher at 15,615.63 points.

Ceylinco Holdings and Lanka Ashok Leyland were the top gainers by index points, up 50 points and 36 points, respectively.

Trading volume on the index rose to 54.75 million shares from 38.48 million shares in the previous session.

Sri Lankan shares fall as IT, consumer staples drag

The equity market’s turnover rose to 1.47 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($4.90 million) from 1.1 billion Sri Lankan rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net buyers, purchasing stocks worth 81.72 million rupees, while domestic investors were net sellers, offloading shares worth 1.42 billion rupees, the data showed.