Sri Lankan shares closed higher on Wednesday, led by utilities and healthcare stocks.
* The CSE All-Share index CSELK:ASI settled 0.39% higher at 22,777.12.
* Industrial Asphalts (Ceylon) PLC CSELK:ASPH.N0000 and Swadeshi Industrial Works PLC CSELK:SWAD.N0000 were the top percentage gainers on the index, gaining 20% each.
* Trading volume on the index fell to 174.1 million shares from 211.8 million shares in the previous session.
* The equity market's turnover fell to 5.38 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($17.77 million) from 6.2 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.
* Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 425.4 million rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth 5.33 billion rupees, the data showed.
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($1 = 302.7500 Sri Lankan rupees)