Sri Lankan stock benchmark adds 1%

Sri Lankan benchmark stock index CSE All Share advanced 1%, lifted by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s growth-focussed comments as he tabled the national budget.

The CSE All Share index settled 0.98% higher at 23,338.25, taking weekly gains to 2.34%.

Dissanayake said Sri Lanka has a 7% growth target in the medium term as the island nation continues to align with a $2.9 billion International Monetary Fund program.

Dairy products maker Kotmale Holdings and consumer lender Senkadagala Finance were the top two percentage gainers on the index, each rising roughly 25% on the day.

Trading volume on the CSE All Share climbed to 208.5 million shares from 187.1 million shares in the previous session.

The equity market’s turnover rose to 6.71 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($22.2 million) from 6.06 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 234.9 million rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth 6.56 billion rupees, the data showed.