IT and real estate stocks lift Sri Lankan shares

Oct 15 (Reuters) — Sri Lankan shares closed higher on Thursday, led by IT and real estate stocks. The CSE All-Share index settled 0.88% higher at 19,971.15 points. SMB Finance PLC and York Arcade Holdings PLC were the top percentage gainers on the index, up 50% and 17.54%, respectively, on the day. Trading volume on the index fell to 51.6 million shares from 101.8 million shares in the previous session. The equity market's turnover dipped to 1.50 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($4.53 million) from 1.90 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data. Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 121 million rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth 1.45 billion rupees, the data showed. For a report on global markets, click MKTS/GLOB ($1 = 331.2000 Sri Lankan rupees) (Reporting by Payel Das in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)