BENGALURU: Sri Lankan shares fell for the eleventh consecutive session on Tuesday, weighed by losses in industrials and financial stocks.

The CSE All Share index settled 0.89% down at 10,279.09 rupees.

Sri Lanka’s central bank kept interest rates steady on Tuesday, in line with market expectations, forgoing a rate cut as a new tax threatened upward pressure on expenses and fuelled concerns about inflation.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) maintained the Standing Deposit Facility Rate at 9% and the Standing Lending Facility Rate at 10%, as predicted in a Reuters poll.

Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka PLC and Expolanka Holdings PLC were the top losers on the index, falling 3.4% and 1.5%, respectively.

Sri Lanka shares end lower as industrials, financials weigh; Dec inflation rises

Trading volume on the index fell to 29.8 million shares from 54.6 million in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover fell to 700.1 million Sri Lankan rupees ($2.19 million) from 979 million rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 178 million rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth 582.4 million rupees, the data showed.