COLOMBO: Sri Lankan shares closed higher on Friday aided by gains in communication services and information technology stocks. The CSE All-Share index settled 1.10% up at 10,683.10.

The island nation’s economy grew 4.7% year-on-year from April to June this year, official data showed. Blue Diamonds Jewellery Worldwide PLC and Kotmale Holdings PLC were top gainers on the index, up 33.3% and 20%, respectively.

Trading volume on the index rose to 50.1 million shares from 25.3 million shares in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover rose to 1.22 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($4.05 million) from 1.15 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net buyers, purchasing stocks worth 89.1 million rupees, while domestic investors were net sellers, offloading shares worth 1.21 billion rupees, the data showed.