Shares drop over 2% as financials, industrials weigh

REUTERS: Sri Lankan shares dropped more than 2 percent yesterday, hurt by weakness in financial and industrial stocks.

The CSE All-Share index slumped 2.44 percent to end at 10,361.8 points.

 Commercial Leasing and Finance Plc and LOLC Finance fell 12.6 percent and 18.2 percent respectively, to be the biggest drags on the index.

The equity market’s turnover was Rs.12.22 billion, according to stock exchange data.

Trading volume on the exchange rose to 673.1 million shares, from 375.3 million shares in the previous session.
Foreign investors were net buyers in the equity market, picking up shares worth about Rs.124.4 million, as per exchange data.

In the last 24 hours, the island-nation has reported 679 COVID-19 cases, taking the total to 545,935 with the death toll at 13,875, data from the country’s health bureau showed.

About 62.29 percent of the country’s population is fully vaccinated so far, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.