Sri Lanka, April 9 -- The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) suffered heavy losses Thursday as investors fled risky assets following former U.S. President Donald Trump's shock announcement of 104 percent tariffs on Chinese imports, reigniting fears of a full-blown global trade war. The global decline weighed heavily on the local market, erasing nearly 50 percent of the previous day's recovery.

The sell-off erased nearly half of Wednesday's gains, with the benchmark All Share Price Index (ASPI) tumbling 251.76 points (-1.66 percent) to close at 14,875.95. Market heavyweight John Keells Holdings emerged as the most actively traded stock with Rs. 881 million in turnover, while Hayleys PLC became the biggest drag on the index, single-handedly pull...