Sri Lankan shares close higher as IT, utilities lead gains

Sri Lankan shares closed higher on Wednesday, as gains in information technology and utilities helped boost the index.

The CSE All-Share index rose 0.76% to 20,775.42.

Industrial Asphalts (Ceylon) and Muller & Phipps (Ceylon) were the top percentage gainers on the index, up 25% and 18.8%, respectively.

Sri Lanka resumed construction of a stalled highway project that links the hub of Colombo with Kandy city in the central highlands with a new $500 million Chinese loan on Wednesday. The loan is the first funding from its largest bilateral creditor since the island nation defaulted on its foreign debt three years ago.

Sri Lankan shares extend losing streak as healthcare, energy stocks weigh

Trading volume on the index rose to 238.8 million shares from 203.2 million shares in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover rose to 6.61 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($22 million) from 6.22 billion rupees, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 684.2 million rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth 6.51 billion rupees, data showed.