Sri Lanka shares end lower as IT, real estate drag

Sri Lankan shares closed lower on Wednesday, dragged by information technology and real estate stocks.

The CSE All-Share index settled 2.95% lower at 16,456.10.

Sri Lanka said on Wednesday that cabinet approval has been given to finalise a debt restructuring deal with Japan, a move that follows a preliminary agreement reached last June with key bilateral lenders.

“After multiple rounds of negotiations, this is an important step for Sri Lanka to complete its debt restructuring process and emerge from a severe financial crisis. This is an important step for Sri Lanka to rebuild its economy,” Cabinet spokesperson Nalinda Jayatissa told reporters.

Industrial Asphalts (Ceylon) Plc and Colombo Fort Land & Building Plc were the top losers on the index, down 20% and 15.5%, respectively.

Sri Lanka shares end lower

Trading volume on the index rose to 241.3 million shares from 121.9 million shares in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover rose to 6.35 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($21.27 million) from 3.04 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 469.3 million rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth 6.23 billion rupees, the data showed.