Stock rally pauses as consumer shares fall

Reuters: Shares slid on Friday after notching a series of all-time highs in recent sessions, hurt by losses in consumer staples and industrial stocks.

The benchmark stock index ended 1.63% lower at 8,668.07. The index is up 28% so far in 2021, among the strongest equity gains for emerging markets.

The benchmark had hit a record high on Wednesday. The market was closed on Thursday for a local holiday.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka, yesterday, began its vaccination drive against COVID-19, a day after India sent half a million free vaccine doses to the island nation of 22 million people. 

Trading volume on the CSE All Share Index fell to 336 million from 497.4 million in the previous session.

Conglomerates Expolanka Holdings and Brown & Co. PLC were the top drags on the benchmark, falling more than 8% each.

Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading Rs. 2.59 billion ($ 13.6 million) worth of shares, according to exchange data.

The rupee was quoted at 190.50 against the dollar as of 1220 GMT, 0.9% stronger for the day compared with the previous close of 192.25, according to Refinitiv data.

Equity market turnover was Rs. 13.42 billion, exchange data showed.