Stocks continue to advance

Local stocks advanced for the third day in a row Monday, allowing the main index to breach 6,600, as global markets reassessed earlier expectations on the US Federal Reserve’s tapering of an aggressive asset buyback program.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 45.74 points or 0.7 percent to close at 6,619.95, likewise boosted by optimism over the second-quarter local corporate earnings reporting season. Investor sentiment was also aided by mostly firmer regional market, in turn due to China’s meeting of second-quarter growth expectations and recent moves to liberalize investment quotas for qualified foreign institutional investors.

The day’s upswing was led by the holding firm, mining/oil and property counters, which all gained more than 1 percent. Only the financial index declined for the day. Value turnover amounted to P6.87 billion. There were 86 advancers that edged out 65 decliners.

Property firms were the biggest index gainers: Megaworld (+3.4 percent), SM Prime (+2.94 percent) and Robinsons Land (+2.9 percent). The US Fed’s indication that a sustained monetary easing was necessary signaled that the regime of record-low interest rates might not end soon as earlier feared.

SM Investments, Jollibee, Alliance Global, Semirara and Globe also contributed to the day’s upswing, all rising more than 2 percent while Aboitiz Equity Ventures and index heavyweight PLDT—the day’s most actively traded company—also gained over 1 percent.

On the other hand, the day’s index laggers were BPI, ICTSI, Belle, Ayala Corp. and BDO. Philex, Metrobank, Energy Development Corp., Metro Pacific Investments and Petron also dipped. Doris C. Dumlao