Shares end lower as financials, consumer stocks drag

Reuters: Shares ended lower on Wednesday for a third straight session, dragged down by losses in financials and consumer staples stocks.

The CSE All Share Index closed 1.06% lower at 7,044.56.

In economic news, Sri Lanka’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 1.3% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2020, the statistics department said late on Tuesday.

However, GDP contracted 3.6% during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the island nation recording declines in all its three major economic sectors — agriculture, industry and services — for the first time in history.

Among individual stock moves on Wednesday, LB Finance PLC and conglomerate Expolanka Holdings were the top two drags on the CSE All Share index, falling 76.3% and 3.3%, respectively.

Trading volume fell to 38.9 million from 83.2 million in the previous session.

Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading Rs. 192.6 million ($ 965,413.53) worth of shares, according to exchange data.

Equity market turnover was Rs. 853.1, exchange data showed.

The rupee was quoted at 199.5 against the dollar as of 1143 GMT, according to Refinitiv data.