Shares extend losses as financials weigh

REUTERS: Sri Lankan shares ended lower for a second straight session yesterday, dragged down by financial and healthcare stocks.

The CSE All-Share index was down 0.84 percent at 11,907.70 points at the closing bell.

Financial services provider Senkadagala Finance dropped 25 percent and was the top drag on the index.

Conglomerate Expolanka Holdings and non-banking financial service provider Commercial Leasing and Finance Plc ended down 1.1 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively.

For the year, the CSE index has risen about 76 percent.

The equity market’s turnover was Rs.5.67 billion (US$ 27.97 million) yesterday, according to stock exchange data.
Trading volume fell to 317.4 million shares from 635.2 million shares in the previous session.

Foreign investors were net sellers in the equity market, offloading shares worth nearly Rs.714 million, as per exchange data.

The island-nation has reported 584,107 coronavirus cases and 14,901 deaths, as of yesterday, data from the country’s health bureau showed.

About 63.43 percent of Sri Lanka’s population has been fully vaccinated, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.