COLOMBO: Sri Lankan shares closed lower on Friday, dragged by energy and consumer staple stocks. The CSE All-Share index settled 0.37% lower at 12,143.76. The index is down 0.86% for the week, marking its third straight weekly fall.
Sri Lanka’s key inflation rate rose in June to 1.7% year-on-year from 0.9% in May, the statistics department said on Friday, though analysts said this was well within expectations.
Food prices rose 1.4% in June after remaining static in May, the Department of Census and Statistics said, adding that prices for non-food items rose 1.8% in June.
Ceylinco Holdings PLC and Senkadagala Finance PLC were the top gainers on the index, up 3.5% and 9.5%, respectively. Trading volume on the index rose to 59.7 million shares from 40.9 million shares in the previous session.
The equity market’s turnover rose to 2.23 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($7.3 million) from 1.01 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.