Sri Lankan shares edge lower as utilities, communication stocks weigh

Sri Lankan shares closed slightly lower on Thursday, as losses in utilities and communication services stocks outweighed gains in consumer discretionary and real estate.

The CSE All Share index settled down 0.09% at 21,066.89.

Utilities fell more than 1%, while communication services dropped nearly 0.6% - LSEG-compiled data

Ceylon Beverage Holdings PLC and Serendib Land PLC were the top percentage losers on the CSE All Share index, falling 10.6% and 7.9%, respectively.

Trading volume on the CSE All Share index fell to 37.8 million shares from 83.4 million in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover fell to 1.20 billion rupees ($3.63 million) from 1.32 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 206 million rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth 1.16 billion rupees, the data showed.