Sri Lankan shares closed at a more than four-month peak on Friday, as industrial companies jumped, with the benchmark index logging its their fifth straight weekly gain.

The CSE All-Share index ended up 3.7% at 9,027.48, clocking its longest gaining streak since mid-January 2021.

The index added 8.3% for the week, its best week since week-ending May 13.

Former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa arrived in Thailand on Thursday, according to three Reuters witnesses, as he sought temporary shelter in a second Southeast Asian country after fleeing his island nation last month.

Sri Lanka is due to restart bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in August in the hope of securing $3 billion in funding.

Sri Lanka shares close at four-month peak as industrials gain

Hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, which decimated the vital tourism industry, and by tax cuts pushed through by the government of then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka is experiencing its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.

Conglomerate LOLC Holdings was the top boost, gaining 7.8%.

On the CSE All-Share index, trading volume rose to 209.9 from 115.8 million shares in the previous session.

The equity market turnover was 6.33 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($17.83 million), according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net sellers in the equity market, offloading 570.1 million rupees worth of shares, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing 5.93 billion rupees worth of shares, the data showed.