Sri Lankan shares rise as utilities, healthcare stocks gain

Sri Lankan shares closed higher on Wednesday, led by utilities and healthcare stocks.

The CSE All-Share index .CSE settled 0.39% higher at 22,777.12.

Industrial Asphalts (Ceylon) and Swadeshi Industrial Works were the top percentage gainers on the index, gaining 20% each.

Trading volume on the index fell to 174.1 million shares from 211.8 million shares in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover fell to 5.38 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($17.77 million) from 6.2 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 425.4 million rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth 5.33 billion rupees, the data showed.