PSEi hurdles 6,000

MANILA, Philippines–The local stock barometer closed past 6,000 for the first time this year in thin Monday trading but risk appetite is tempered by the trend of peso weakening against the US dollar.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index climbed for the fourth consecutive session and gained 18.5 points or 0.31 percent to close at 6,005.60. Elsewhere in the region, trading was mostly sluggish even as China met market expectations of fourth quarter economic growth.

At the local market, all counters ended in positive territory, supporting the PSEi’s breaching of the 6,000 level at closing after several futile attempts to do so. The day’s outperformer was mining/oil (+2.25 percent).

There were 90 advancers that beat 70 decliners while 40 stocks were unchanged. Value turnover was thin at P4.31 billion.

Across the region, trading was lackluster. This was as China gross domestic product growth slowed to 7.7 percent but beat market consensus in the fourth quarter while China’s December retail sales and fixed asset investment growth disappointed.