Communication, healthcare stocks lift Sri Lankan shares higher

Sri Lankan shares closed up on Friday, with communication and healthcare stocks boosting the index to its highest intraday percentage gain in nearly three months. The CSE All-Share index settled 1.05% higher at 21,620.44 points. Dialog Axiata and Hayeys Plc were the top percentage point gainers on the index, up 28.05 points and 19.85 points respectively, on the day. Trading volume on the index fell to 79.02 million shares from 118.2 million shares in the previous session. The equity market’s turnover rose to 2.68 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($8.17 million) from 2.45 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data. Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 107.9 million rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth 2.64 billion rupees, the data showed.