Shares extend gains as financials rise

REUTERS: Sri Lankan shares ended marginally higher yesterday, extending gains to a third straight session, supported by financial and communication services stocks.

The CSE All-Share index (.CSE) closed 0.09 percent higher at 12,470.81 points.
Ceylinco Insurance PLC (CINS.CM) and Dialog Axiata PLC were the top boosts to the index, gaining nearly 25 percent and 8.3 percent, respectively.

Losses in industrial stocks capped gains, with conglomerate Expolanka Holdings (EXPO.CM) falling 1.2 percent. 
Foreign investors were net sellers in the equity market, 

offloading shares worth Rs.80.9 million (US $ 399,013.56), while domestic investors were net buyers, picking up shares worth Rs.2.22 billion, exchange data showed.  The equity market turnover was Rs.2.25 billion.
The trading volume fell to nearly 73 million shares from 95.2 million in the previous session.

The island-nation reported 628,116 coronavirus cases and 15,808 deaths as of Sunday, data from the country’s health bureau showed. About 64.38 percent of Sri Lanka’s population has been fully vaccinated, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.