Sri Lankan shares close higher for the 8th session as consumer staples comply

Jan 7 (Reuters) – Sri Lankan shares closed at a five-year high on Thursday, recording gains for an eighth straight session, led by a rally in consumer staples.

* The CSE All Share Index finished up 0.87% at 7,097.84, the highest closing rate since October 2015.

* The index gained 10.5% in 2020, the best performance since 2014.

* Trade volume on the index rose to 1 billion on Thursday from 760.1 million in the previous session.

* Browns Investments Plc and Lanka ORIX Leasing Company PLC were the top winners on the index, closing 19.3% and 7.7% higher.

* Foreign investors were net sellers, downloading shares worth 374.7 million Sri Lankan rupees ($ 2.00 million), according to exchange data.

* Sri Lankan rupee was last recalled at 187 against the US dollar as 1143 GMT, according to Refinitiv data.

* Market trading value was around 9.1 billion rupees, exchange data showed.

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* For a report on big money, click ($ 1 = 187.0000 Sri Lankan rupees) (Reported by Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; edited by Uttaresh.V)

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