COLOMBO: Sri Lankan shares closed higher on Friday, lifted by gains in financial and consumer staple stocks. The CSE All-Share index rose 0.35% to 11,843.97. On Thursday, the index closed about 0.1% lower.

For the week, however, the index fell 1.7%, stretching losses to a fifth straight week. Conglomerates Industrial Asphalts (Ceylon) PLC and UB Finance Company PLC were the biggest percentage gainers on the CSE All-Share index, rising 33.3% and 16.7%, respectively.

Financial stocks rose 1.42%, while consumer staples rose 1.07%. The International Monetary Fund said after market hours on Thursday it is assessing Sri Lanka’s recently announced agreement with bondholders to determine whether it complies with the fund’s debt sustainability analysis.