Sri Lankan shares extend record run as financials surge

Jan 5 (Reuters) – Sri Lankan shares recorded their fourth straight session of all-time highs on Wednesday, lifted by a rally in financial and industrial stocks.

* The CSE All-Share index (.CSE) climbed 2.2% to 13,076.91, also registering its sixth consecutive session of gains. The index has gained 7% already in 2022 after an 80% surge last year.

* Sri Lankan stocks are steaming ahead even as broader equities weakened with higher U.S. Treasury yields hurting technology stocks.

* Aiding sentiment in Colombo was an announcement by the central bank chief that Sri Lanka has allocated $500 million to repay an international sovereign bond maturing on Jan. 18. The country has to repay about $4.5 billion in 2022.

* Conglomerate LOLC Holdings (LOLC.CM) was the biggest boost to the index, rising 11%, while logistics firm Expolanka Holdings (EXPO.CM) climbed 3.6%.

* The equity market’s turnover was 15.56 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($77.41 million) on Wednesday, according to stock exchange data.

* Trading volume rose to 951.7 million shares from 806.4 million shares in the previous session.

* Foreign investors were net buyers in the equity market, acquiring shares worth 295 million rupees, exchange data showed.

* Sri Lanka has reported 588,929 coronavirus cases and 15,055 deaths, as of Tuesday, data from the country’s health bureau showed.

* About 63.52% of Sri Lanka’s population has been fully vaccinated, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

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($1 = 201.0000 Sri Lankan rupees)

Reporting by Chris Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli

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