Shares gain for fourth session on consumer stocks boost

Reuters: Sri Lankan shares rose for a fourth straight session yesterday and recorded their best weekly performance since late June, helped by gains in consumer staple companies.

The benchmark CSE All Share Index rose 0.17% to 5,360.28. For the week, the index gained 2.29%, its fifth straight weekly gain.

The island nation’s national consumer price inflation for July eased to 6.1% on a year-over-year basis, compared with 6.3% a month ago, data from its statistics department showed. Beer maker Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC and Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka PLC were the biggest boosts to the index, climbing 7.6% and 4.1%, respectively. Equity market turnover was Rs. 1.83 billion ($ 9.92 million). 

Trading volume on the CSE All Share Index fell to 69 million compared with 116.7 million in the previous session. Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading 147.3 million rupees worth of shares. The rupee was quoted at Rs. 184.5 against the dollar as of 1142 GMT, according to Refinitiv data.