IT, financials lead shares lower

Sri Lankan shares closed lower, dragged by broad-based losses across sectors, led by financial and IT stocks, ahead of the release of April consumer price data.

The CSE All Share index settled down 0.38 percent at 22,549.53.

After the market closed, the Statistics Department said that the ‌Colombo Consumer ‌Price Index — a ​leading ‌indicator ⁠for broader ​national prices — ⁠rose 5.4 percent year-on-year in April after a 2.2 percent rise in March, as energy costs climbed because of the Middle East war.

HDFC Bank of Sri Lanka and LAUGFS Gas PLC were the top percentage losers on the CSE All Share index, falling 1.8 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.

Trading ‌volume on the CSE All Share index fell to 155.8 million shares from 214.3 million in the previous ‌session.

The equity market’s turnover fell to 3.44 billion ⁠Sri ⁠Lankan rupees ($10.78 million) from 4.19 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 345.7 million rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth 3.17 billion rupees, the data showed.