Nov 8 (Reuters) - Sri Lankan shares slid to their worst
session in nearly a month on Tuesday, hurt by losses in
industrial and energy stocks.
* The CSE All-Share index closed 2.64% lower at
8,267.77, exchange data showed. The index had registered a loss
of 2.7% for the previous week.
* Sri Lankan markets were closed on Monday for a holiday.
* Data released after market hours on Friday showed the
island nation's trade deficit narrowed year-on-year to $206
million in September.
* Sri Lanka is in the grip of a deep financial crisis,
caused by record-low foreign exchange reserves that have left it
struggling to pay for essential imports including fuel, food,
cooking gas and medicine.
* Gross official reserves dipped month-on-month to $1.7
billion at the end of October, central bank data showed on
Friday, from $1.8 billion at the end of September.
* Conglomerate Expolanka Holdings PLC and energy
firm Lanka IOC PLC were the biggest drags on Tuesday,
falling 7.7% and 7.1%, respectively.
* Trading volume on the CSE All-Share index rose to 46.5
million shares from 28.2 million in the previous session.
* The equity market's turnover was 1.12 billion Sri Lankan
rupees ($3.07 million), according to exchange data.
* Foreign investors were net buyers in the equity market,
purchasing 91 million rupees of shares, while domestic investors
were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 1.12 billion rupees,
data showed.
* For a report on global markets, click
($1 = 365.0000 Sri Lankan rupees)
(Reporting by Meenakshi Maidas in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika
Syamnath)