Sri Lankan shares closed lower on Tuesday after hitting record highs earlier in the session, weighed down by industrials and consumer staples companies.
* The benchmark stock index ended down 0.33% at 8,665.82, after touching an all-time high of 8798.38 earlier in the session.
** The index on Monday had gained for a fourth straight session after local regulatory approval for AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, and is up nearly 28% so far this year.
* Trading volume on the CSE All Share Index fell to 828.7 million from 995.6 million in the previous session.
* Conglomerate Carson Cumberbatch PLC dropped 6.7%, while John Keells Holdings PLC slid 4.6%.
* Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading 442.7 million Sri Lankan rupees ($2.27 million) worth of shares, according to exchange data.
* The Sri Lankan rupee was quoted at 195 against the U.S. dollar as of 1136 GMT, 1% stronger for the day compared to last session's close of 197, according to Refinitiv data.
* Equity market turnover was 11.44 billion rupees, exchange data showed.
($1 = 195.0000 Sri Lankan rupees)
(Reporting by Chris Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.) ((chris.thomas@thomsonreuters.com; +91-80-6749-8695;))
