Sri Lankan shares jumped over 3% on Wednesday, continuing their rally on the back of strong gains in industrial and financial stocks as the newly appointed cenbank chief said he would focus on restoring financial stability.
* After taking office, the governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, said he would soon announce a policy package to achieve financial stability.
* The CSE All-Share index closed 2.75% higher at 8,931.21 points, on track to log a weekly gain.
* Conglomerate Expolanka Holdings Plc and Browns Investments Plc which manages a portfolio of investments and listed securities were top boosts to the index, rising 11.8% and 10%, respectively.
* The equity market's turnover was about 5.50 billion rupees according to stock exchange data.
* Trading volume on the exchange rose to 293.3 million shares from 148.7 million shares in the previous session.
* Foreign investors were net sellers in the equity market, offloading shares worth 52.4 million rupees, exchange data showed.
* The island-nation reported 2,475 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 494,109.
* It reported 136 fatalities due to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 11,567, health bureau data showed.
* About 48.95% of the country's population is fully vaccinated so far, data from Johns Hopkins University showed.
(Reporting by Shivani Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi) ((ShivaniSingh1@thomsonreuters.com; +91 89 6969 2349))
