BENGALURU: Sri Lankan shares closed lower on Tuesday after the country’s central bank held interest rates steady to ensure inflation pressures remain in check.

The CSE All Share index settled down 0.68% at 10,619.60, falling in eight out of the last ten sessions.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) kept the Standing Deposit Facility Rate at 8.50% and the Standing Lending Facility Rate at 9.50%, it said in a statement.

LOLC Finance PLC and John Keells PLC were the top losers on the CSE All Share, falling 1.5% and 0.8%, respectively.

Trading volume on the CSE All Share index fell to 43.6 million shares from 50.1 million in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover rose to 915.8 million Sri Lankan rupees ($3 million) from 494.4 million rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net buyers, purchasing stocks worth 83.8 million rupees, while domestic investors were net sellers, offloading shares worth 895.9 million rupees, the data showed.