PSEi nears 7,000 level
THE LOCAL stock barometer firmed up closer to the 7,000 level Tuesday, aided by the start of yearend window-dressing season.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 55.84 points or 0.81 percent to close at 6,966.18 on selective buying of large-cap stocks.
The day’s upswing was led by holding firms, which gained 1.13 percent. The financial, services and property counters also edged higher.
On the other hand, the industrial and mining/oil counters declined.
Value turnover was heavy at P34.77 billion, bloated by block trades. Despite the PSE’s gain, market breadth was negative, suggesting selective buying. There were 92 decliners that outnumbered 67 advancers while 44 stocks were unchanged.
To date, the PSEi is still behind the 2014 closing level of 7,230.57.
GT Capital led the PSEi higher with its 3.5-percent gain while SM Prime also soared by 2.97 percent. Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Ayala Corp. and BPI all advanced by over 2 percent.
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. rose by 1.48 percent while BDO Unibank and Aboitiz Power all gained more than 1 percent.
Ayala Land Inc. and JG Summit also contributed to the day’s gains.
On the other hand, Jollibee, SM Investments Corp. and Megaworld Corp. slipped.
There was likewise profit-taking on Ionics, which fell by 15.74 percent. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla
