Sri Lankan shares closed higher on Wednesday after posting losses for two straight sessions, as financial stocks gained, with investors' focus now shifting to the central bank's policy rate decision due later in the week.

 

* The CSE All Share index ended 0.37% higher at 9,222.68.

* The Central Bank of Sri Lanka is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged for a fourth straight meeting this week as it strives to keep a cap on inflation while waiting for an International Monetary Fund bailout.

* The central bank has shifted its policy rate announcement from Thursday to Friday afternoon.

* Data released after market hours on Tuesday showed that the crisis-struck country's key inflation rate eased to 50.6% in February from 51.7% in January.

* Finance company Senkadagala Finance and LOLC Holdings were the biggest boosts to the index, rising 21.8% and ~2%, respectively, according to Refinitiv data.

* Trading volume on the CSE All Share index fell to 43 million shares from 50.4 million in the previous session.

* The equity market's turnover rose to 1.27 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($3.57 million) from 1.41 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

* Foreign investors were net buyers in the equity market, purchasing shares worth 171.3 million rupees, while domestic investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 1.12 billion rupees, data showed.

* For a report on global markets, click ($1 = 356.0000 Sri Lankan rupees) (Reporting by Yagnoseni Das in Bengaluru; editing by Shweta Agarwal)