Shares close lower, broad losses weigh
Sri Lankan shares closed lower on Thursday, dragged by broad-based losses amid the escalation in the Middle East war.
The CSE All-Share index settled 1.82% lower at 20,264.01 points.
Real estate shares dropped 3.28%, and industrials lost 3.19%.
Paragon Ceylon and LOLC General Insurance were the top percentage losers on the index, down 11.46% and 9.59%, respectively.
Trading volume on the index fell to 176.5 million shares from 216.3 million shares in the previous session.
The equity market’s turnover dipped to 3.95 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($12.7 million) from 5.27 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.
* Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 352.9 million rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth 3.82 billion rupees, the data showed.