Sri Lankan shares end higher as industrials rise

21 Sep, 2022

Sri Lankan shares closed higher on Wednesday, snapping two straight sessions of losses, helped by gains in industrial and energy stocks.

The CSE All-Share index settled 0.12% higher at 9,913.22.

Consumer inflation in Sri Lanka accelerated to 70.2% in August, the statistics department said on Wednesday after the market closed.

The island-nation is facing its worst economic crisis since its independence in 1948, as it grapples with soaring inflation, economic contraction and a severe shortage of essential items, caused by a record slump in foreign reserves.

India said on Tuesday it had begun talks with Sri Lanka on restructuring its debt and promised to support the crisis-hit neighbour mainly through long-term investments after providing nearly $4 billion of financial aid.

Sri Lanka will make a presentation to its international creditors on Friday, laying out the full extent of its economic troubles and plans for a debt restructuring.

Trading volume on the CSE All-Share index fell to 112.6 million shares from 124.1 million shares in the previous session.

Indian Oil Corp’s unit Lanka IOC and conglomerate Expolanka Holdings Plc were the top performers on the index, advancing 4% and 1.1%, respectively.

The equity market turnover was 4.62 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($12.87 million), compared with 6.05 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net buyers in the equity market, purchasing 1.04 billion rupees worth of shares, while domestic investors were net sellers, offloading 4.57 billion rupees worth of stocks, data showed.

Read Comments