Financial, communications stocks lift Sri Lankan shares higher

Sri Lanka’s CSE All-Share index gained 2.75% to finish Tuesday at 22,123.39, with banking and communications shares providing the strongest support. Business Recorder reported that Commercial Bank of Ceylon rose 4.28%, while Dialog Axiata advanced 4.88%, making them the leading contributors to the benchmark’s increase.

Trading activity also picked up: volume reached 249.3 million shares, compared with 144.4 million in the preceding session. Turnover climbed to 7.91 billion Sri Lankan rupees, equivalent to $23.81 million, from 3.33 billion rupees. Foreign investors sold a net 1.26 billion rupees of shares, while local investors bought a net 7.85 billion rupees, according to exchange data cited by the publisher. The report describes movement in Sri Lanka’s market rather than a development involving a listed Pakistani company.