PSEi breaches 6,400 mark

Local stocks rallied further into uncharted territory on Monday, breaking past the 6,400 mark for the first time, as yield-seeking investors snapped up equities amid rosy prospects for the year.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index soared by 117.37 points or 1.86 percent to close at a new record high of 6,435.98.  A new intraday peak was likewise touched at 6,449.44. This marked the local stock market’s 14th record breakout for the year and the 75th under the term of President Aquino, whose anti-corruption campaign has boosted investor confidence in the country.

Fund managers said new money was pouring into the market as reflected by the increasing value turnover. With interest rates at record-low levels, some investors are reallocating more funds into equities. Based on anecdotal evidence, there is a growing list of institutional and retail investors buying into the market for the first time.

At the same time, the upbeat sentiment on Wall Street is also supporting regional risk appetite specially after the latest US jobs and factory data boosted expectations of economic recovery.

“Demand for local equities is very strong,” said the chief of a leading foreign brokerage.

Value turnover at the stock market yesterday amounted to P11.18 billion. There were 130 advancers that overwhelmed 50 decliners. All sectors jumped but the day’s biggest gainer was the holding firm counter (+2.57 percent) as conglomerates are seen as a proxy to the growing economy.  Doris C. Dumlao