Broad-based losses weigh on Sri Lankan shares

Sri Lankan shares ended lower on Friday and logged their worst weekly decline since early-April, weighed down by losses across sectors.

The CSE All-Share index settled 0.53% lower at 22,982.72 points. It dropped 2% for the week.

Sri Lanka’s consumer prices rose 2.7% year-on-year in October, accelerating from a 2.1% increase in September, the statistics department said on Friday.

Ambeon Holdings and HDFC Bank of Sri Lanka were the biggest percentage losers on the benchmark index, down 7.8% and 6.3%, respectively.

Trading volume on the CSE All-Share fell to 146.7 million shares from 151.2 million shares in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover climbed to 3.82 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($12.41 million) from 3.49 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 290.8 million rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth 3.69 billion rupees, the data showed.