Dec 11 (Reuters) – Sri Lankan shares closed higher on Monday, boosted by industrials and consumer staple stocks.
* The CSE All-Share index .CSE settled 0.53% higher at 10,850.78, gaining for a fourth straight session.
* Sri Lanka’s parliament approved a hike in Value Added Tax (VAT) up to 18% from the current 15% on Monday ahead of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) preparing to approve the second tranche of a $2.9 billion bailout for the crisis-hit country.
* Expolanka Holdings Plc EXPO.CM and Sri Lanka Telecom Plc SLTL.CM were the top gainers on the index, climbing 7.7% and 1.9%, respectively.
* Trading volume on the index fell to 23.2 million shares from 35.1 million shares in the previous session.
* The equity market’s turnover fell to 776.4 million Sri Lankan rupees ($2.38 million) from 1.09 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.
* Foreign investors were net buyers, purchasing stocks worth 113 million rupees, while domestic investors were net sellers, offloading shares worth 712.3 million rupees, the data showed.
* For a report on global markets, click MKTS/GLOB ($1 = 326.7500 Sri Lankan rupees)
Source: Nasdaq