Sri Lankan shares closed higher on Thursday, led by gains in IT and real estate stocks.
* The CSE All-Share index CSELK:ASI settled up 1.09% at 22,824.55 points.
* HVA Foods PLC CSELK:HVA.N0000 and Industrial Asphalts (Ceylon) PLC CSELK:ASPH.N0000 were the top percentage gainers on the CSE All-Share index, rising 35.6% and 25%, respectively.
* Trading volume on the index rose to 330.5 million shares from 171.3 million in the previous session.
* The equity market's turnover rose to 5.68 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($18.3 million) from 4.68 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.
* Foreign investors were net buyers, purchasing stocks worth 283.7 million rupees, while domestic investors were net sellers, offloading shares worth 5.59 billion rupees, the data showed.
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($1 = 311.0000 Sri Lankan rupees)