Sri Lankan shares rose for the third straight session on Thursday, driven by a surge in consumer and financial stocks.

** The benchmark stock index closed up 0.73% at 5,984.50, their biggest percentage gain since Jan. 9.

** The biggest gainer on the index was Carson Cumberbatch PLC, which gained 20.9%. Tess Agro PLC was the second-best performer, with a 20% jump.

** Foreign investors were net sellers in the equity market, offloading 344.4 million Sri Lankan rupees ($1.90 million) worth of shares.

** The Sri Lankan rupee was quoted at 181.56 against the U.S. dollar, as of 1235 GMT, 0.1% weaker compared with the last session's close of 181.35, according to Refinitiv data.

** Equity market turnover was 604.5 million Sri Lankan rupees, stock exchange data showed.

($1 = 181.3500 Sri Lankan rupees)

(Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni) ((Sethuraman.NR@thomsonreuters.com; (+91 8067496031); Reuters Messaging: nallur.sethuraman.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))