Sri Lankan shares closed higher on Thursday, helped by gains in consumer discretionary and real estate stocks.
* The CSE All-Share index CSELK:ASI settled 0.27% higher at 22,839.53.
* Mercantile Investments and Finance PLC CSELK:MERC.N0000 and York Arcade Holdings PLC CSELK:YORK.N0000 were the top percentage gainers on the index, gaining 25% each.
* Trading volume on the index rose to 223.1 million shares from 174.1 million shares in the previous session.
* The equity market's turnover rose to 7.78 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($25.7 million) from 5.38 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.
* Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 1.07 billion rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth 7.57 billion rupees, the data showed.
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($1 = 302.7500 Sri Lankan rupees)