PSEi hits new high
THE LOCAL stock barometer eked out a new high for the year on Tuesday, leading regional markets which were mostly upbeat ahead of a UK referendum on whether this state will remain part of the European Union.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index rallied by 101.9 points or 1.33 percent to close at 7,767.23, its best finish in 13 months.
Since the start of the year, the PSEi has gained a total of 815.15 points or 11.73 percent. The closing level of the PSEi was its highest since May 22, 2015 when the index closed at 7,810.17.
“Philippine stocks rose ahead of the UK decision on European Union membership and testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen,” said Luis Gerardo Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital Development.
“The local bourse has whipsawed over the past week, with short term volatility jumping, as investors looked to the UK plebiscite,” he said.
The day’s rally was led by the services and holding firm counters which respectively rose by 2.2 percent and 1.7 percent. Only the mining/oil counter slumped for the day (-4.09 percent) as investors were spooked by rumors that President-elect Rodrigo Duterte may name Gina Lopez—a staunch anti-mining proponent—as the next environment secretary.
Value turnover for the day amounted to P9.93 billion, buoyed by about P1 billion in net foreign buying. There were 97 advancers that edged out 92 decliners while 48 stocks were unchanged.
PLDT rose by 4.43 percent, while MPI also surged by 3.6 percent. Megaworld, Globe and AEV were all up by over 2 percent while AC, Metrobank, JG Summit, SM Prime, BDO and SMIC also rose by over 1 percent. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla
