May 11 (TheLedger) - The Colombo Stock Exchange closed sharply higher on Friday, with the All Share Price Index gaining 2.3%, its strongest single-day move in eleven weeks.
The rally followed remarks from a visiting IMF mission chief who told reporters that Sri Lanka was "broadly on track" ahead of the fourth review of the Extended Fund Facility, scheduled for late November.
Banking and conglomerate counters led the gains, with Commercial Bank and John Keells Holdings each up more than 4%.
"There is a real shift in tone from offshore investors this quarter," said one fund manager who asked not to be named. "If the review lands cleanly, we expect more inbound flows in early Q1."
Market turnover came in at LKR 4.1 billion, comfortably above the year-to-date daily average.