Sri Lankan shares closed lower on Monday, snapping two straight sessions of gains, dragged down by consumer and financial stocks.
* The benchmark stock index ended down 0.51% at 7,438.13. Based on Thursday's closing levels, February marked the index's worst month since March 2020, following a surge in January. The stock market was closed on Friday for a holiday.
* Data released after market hours on Thursday showed Sri Lanka's consumer prices rose 3.3% year-on-year in February compared with a 3% rise in January.
* Cigarette maker Ceylon Tobacco Company Plc slid 4.8% to the Dec. 11 low of 1,000 Sri Lankan rupees, while Lanka ORIX Leasing Company PLC fell 1.5%.
* Trading volume on the CSE All Share Index dropped to 57.9 million from 101 million in the previous session.
* Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading shares worth 654.6 million Sri Lankan rupees ($3.37 million), according to exchange data.
* Equity market turnover was 1.9 billion Sri Lankan rupees, data showed.
* The Sri Lankan rupee was quoted at 194 against the U.S. dollar as of 1122 GMT, according to Refinitiv data.
($1 = 194.0000 Sri Lankan rupees)
(Reporting by Chris Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi) ((chris.thomas@thomsonreuters.com; +91-80-6749-8695;))
