Sri Lankan shares closed higher for a second consecutive session on Thursday, boosted by financials and industrial stocks, hours after former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa resigned from parliament.

* The CSE All-Share index ended up 1.4% at 7,881.13.

* Sri Lanka, an island nation of 22 million people, is reeling under its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948.

* Basil Rajapaksa, who is also the brother of Sri Lankan president, said he had resigned from parliament, the second from the influential family to step away from government amid the severe economic crisis.

* Meanwhile, swathes of Sri Lanka were hit by electricity cuts after a power sector union went on strike opposing new government regulations.

* Trading volume rose to 46.9 million shares from 45.7 million shares in the previous session.

* The equity market turnover was 917.3 million Sri Lankan rupees ($2.58 million), compared with 1.02 billion Sri Lankan rupees in the previous session, data showed

* Foreign investors were net buyers in the equity market, purchasing 12.9 million Sri Lankan rupees worth of shares, while domestic investors were net sellers, offloading 906.9 million rupees worth of shares, according to exchange data.

* For a report on global markets, click

($1 = 355.0000 Sri Lankan rupees) (Reporting by Tanvi Mehta in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)


Reuters