Oct 8 (Reuters) – Sri Lankan shares marked their best session in nearly five months on Thursday, ending higher for a second straight session on the back of gains in consumer and financial stocks.
** The benchmark stock index ended up 3.09% at 5,724.54, its biggest intraday percentage gain since May 18.
** Commercial Leasing & Finance Plc and investment firm Carson Cumberbatch Plc were the top boosts to the index, gaining 27.8% and 9.6%, respectively.
** Finance company LOLC Development Finance Plc fell 3.6% and was the top drag on the index.
** Trading volume on the CSE All Share Index rose to 143.45 million, from 113.52 million a day earlier.
** Foreign investors were net sellers in the equity market, offloading 891.3 million Sri Lankan rupees ($4.84 million) worth of shares, according to exchange data.
** The Sri Lankan rupee was quoted at 184.15 against the U.S. dollar by 1240 GMT, 0.14% higher for the day compared with last session’s close of 184.4, according to Refinitiv data.
** Equity market turnover was 2.90 billion Sri Lankan rupees on Thursday, data showed.
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** For a report on major currencies, click ($1 = 184.1500 Sri Lankan rupees) (Reporting by Anuron Kumar Mitra in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)