Sri Lankan shares closed lower on Thursday, helped by financials stocks.

* The CSE All Share index settled up 0.52% at 8,767.34, snapping two straight sessions of loss.

* On the CSE All share index, LOLC Finance Plc and Carson Cumberbatch Plc were the top gainers, rising 2% and 5.6%, respectively.

* Trading volume rose to 34.8 million shares from 19.8 million shares in the previous session.

* The equity market's turnover rose to 853.7 million Sri Lankan rupees ($2.90 million)from 554.4 million rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

* Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 340 million rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth 796.1 million rupees, the data showed.

* For a report on global markets, click ($1 = 294.0000 Sri Lankan rupees) (Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto; Editing by Shweta Agarwal)