Jan 14 (Reuters) - Sri Lankan shares slid on Tuesday, hit by a steep drop in consumer stocks which accounted for nearly half the losses.
** The benchmark Sri Lankan stock index closed down 0.2% at 5,968.63 points.
** Shares of Ceylon Tobacco Company and Ceylon Beverage Holdings were the top drag on the index, slipping 1.8% and 9.8%, respectively.
** Shares of liquor manufacturer Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka dropped nearly 2%.
** Foreign investors were net sellers in the equity market, off-loading 37.8 million Sri Lankan rupees ($208,436.72) worth of shares.
** The Sri Lankan rupee was last quoted at 181.35 against the U.S. dollar as of 12:57 GMT, 0.06% higher for the day compared to last session’s close of 181.45, according to Refinitiv data.
** Equity market turnover was 218.7 million Sri Lankan rupees, stock exchange data showed.
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** For a report on major currencies, click ($1 = 181.5000 Sri Lankan rupees) (Reporting by Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
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