Healthcare stocks lift Sri Lankan shares higher

Sri Lankan shares closed higher on Tuesday, driven mainly by healthcare stocks.

The CSE All-Share index settled marginally higher at 22,256.49 points.

SMB Leasing PLC and Bogala Graphite Lanka were the top percentage gainers on the index, up 33.3% and 10.5%, respectively, on the day.

Trading volume on the index slightly rose to 65.1 million shares from 44.3 million shares in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover rose to 1.56 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($4.67 million) from 1.18 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 226.6 million rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth 1.56 billion rupees, the data showed.