Sri Lankan shares ended almost flat on Thursday after a decline in LOLC Finance and John Keells offset gains in the broader financial and consumer staple sectors.

 

* The CSE All Share index settled up 0.03% at 11,357.45.

* Consumer goods conglomerate John Keells Holdings PLC was among the biggest losers, down 1.33%, while LOLC Finance PLC fell 1.89%.

* Ceylinco Insurance PLC and Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka PLC were the top gainers on the CSE All Share, rising 13.33% and 4.25%, respectively.

* Trading volume on the CSE All Share index fell to 55.1 million shares from 62.9 million shares in the previous session.

* The equity market's turnover fell to 1.53 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($4.74 million) from 2.28 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.

* Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 290.3 million rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth 1.49 billion rupees, the data showed.

* For a report on global markets, click ($1 = 322.493 Sri Lankan rupees) (Reporting by Ashish Chandra in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta Agarwal)