Financial and industrial stocks drag Sri Lankan shares lower

Sri Lanka’s broad-market gauge finished Friday at 22,024.18, down 0.6%, as losses in financial and industrial shares weighed on trading, Business Recorder reported. Hatton National Bank fell 1.9%, while Richard Pieris dropped 6.2%; both were among the session’s largest negative contributors. The report did not identify any Pakistan-listed companies connected to the move.

Trading activity increased, with 100.7 million shares changing hands versus 87.1 million in the previous session. Market value traded reached 3.23 billion Sri Lankan rupees, equivalent to $9.71 million, compared with 2.98 billion rupees previously. Foreign investors bought a net 56.7 million rupees of equities, while domestic investors sold a net 3.21 billion rupees, exchange figures cited by the publisher showed.