Shares hit near 3-week low as industrial stocks slump

REUTERS: Sri Lankan shares hit a near three-week low yesterday, ending down about 4 percent, as industrial stocks dropped. The CSE All-Share index was down 3.70 percent at 8,536.88 points at the closing bell, logging its worst day since February.

The benchmark index fell as conglomerates Expolanka Holdings PLC and LOLC Holdings dropped 15.1 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively.

Friday evening, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor had said he would be stepping down, at a time when the South Asian nation’s weak foreign exchange reserves have limited its ability to import goods and raised the risk of a default.

Sri Lanka’s trade deficit for the month of July widened to US $ 607 million as compared to a deficit of US $ 209 million recorded a year ago, the Central Bank data showed.

The Colombo Stock Exchange had halted trade during the day for about 15 minutes due to connection stability issues.

The equity market’s turnover was Rs.6.76 billion (US $ 33.97 million), according to stock exchange data.
Trading volume on the exchange fell to 228.2 million shares, from 248.6 million shares in the previous session.
Foreign investors were net sellers in the equity market, offloading shares worth Rs.735.8 million, exchange data showed.

The island-nation reported 2,642 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 485,922.

It reported 144 fatalities due to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 11,296, health bureau data showed.About 48.36 percent of the country’s population is fully vaccinated so far, data from Johns Hopkins University showed.