Shares hit record high as financials climb

REUTERS: Sri Lankan shares hit an all-time high yesterday, and marked their fifth straight session of gains, boosted by financial stocks.

The CSE All-Share index climbed 1.4 percent to 12,800.54. The index started 2022 with sharp gains on Monday after recording an 80 percent surge last year. The index’s winning streak is the longest since late October, when it gained for eight consecutive sessions.

Equities around the globe have seen a positive start to the year as investors brushed aside concerns that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus could derail economic recovery.

In Colombo, financial solutions provider LOLC Finance  and conglomerate LOLC Holdings were the biggest boosts to the index, rising 13.1 percent and 6.7 percent respectively.

The equity market’s turnover was Rs.10.81 billion (US$ 53.32 million) yesterday, according to stock exchange data.

Trading volume rose to 806.4 million shares, from 773.9 million shares in the previous session.

Foreign investors were net sellers in the equity market, offloading shares worth Rs.709.3 million, exchange data showed.

Sri Lanka has reported 588,300 coronavirus cases and 15,037 deaths, as of Monday, data from the country’s health bureau showed.

 About 63.51 percent of Sri Lanka’s population has been fully vaccinated, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.