PSEi rallies back to 6,900

THE LOCAL stock barometer rallied back to the 6,900 level on Friday as investors priced in a gradual approach to interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve (Fed).

The Philippine Stock Exchange surged by 107.43 points or 1.57 percent to close at 6,932.81.

The local bourse tracked mostly upbeat markets in the region. “The dovish trajectory of Fed fund rates priced in by the market for 2016 and beyond derives comfort from the gradualist approach of Fed hikes reinstated by FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) members,” Citigroup said in a research note.

The local market was led higher by the interest rate-sensitive property counter which gained 2.66 percent. The holding firm and services counters likewise rose by over 1 percent while the industrial and financial counter also firmed up. Only the mining/oil counter ended lower (-1.15 percent).

Value turnover for the day amounted to P5.97 billion. There were 108 advancers that edged out 60 decliners while 47 stocks were unchanged.

ALI and AEV led the PSEi higher, both rising by close to 4 percent while JG Summit also gained over 3 percent. SMIC, SM Prime, BPI, Jollibee and Megaworld all went up by over 2 percent while PLDT advanced by 1.78 percent.

AC, RLC, DMCI, GTCAP, AP, Meralco, Metrobank and MPI all contributed to the day’s gains.

On the other hand, URC, Globe and BDO bucked the day’s upswing.