Healthcare, basic materials stocks lift Sri Lankan shares

Sri Lankan shares closed higher, boosted by healthcare and basic materials stocks.

The CSE All-Share index settled 3.43% higher at 22,380.65 points.

SMB Finance PLC and Softlogic Capital PLC were the top percentage gainers on the index, up 25% and 19.35%, respectively, on the day.

Trading volume on the index rose to 205.58 million shares from 83.8 million shares in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover rose to 4 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($12.01 million) from 1.99 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net buyers, purchasing stocks worth 77.35 million rupees, while domestic investors were net sellers, offloading shares worth 3.95 billion rupees, the data showed.