Shares close lower as industrials weigh

Reuters: Shares ended lower on Friday, hurt by losses in industrial stocks.

The CSE All-Share Index fell 0.12% to close at 7,208.20 points. The index was up 6.4% for the year.

Insurance underwriter Ceylinco Insurance PLC and conglomerate Expolanka Holdings PLC were the top drags on the index, falling 7.73% and 2.93%, respectively.

Trading volumes fell to 42.4 million from 100.1 million in the previous session.

Foreign investors were net sellers in the equity market, offloading more than Rs. 439 million ($ 2.23 million) worth of shares, according to exchange data.

Equity market turnover was Rs. 1.14 billion, exchange data showed.

The Sri Lankan Rupee was last quoted at 197 against the US Dollar as of 1135 GMT, according to Refinitiv data.