PSEi rises above 6,800

The local stock barometer returned to the 6,800-mark in thin trade on Monday as regional markets were lifted by upbeat US jobs and Japanese economic data.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index added 40.11 points or 0.59 percent to close at 6,802.73.

The gains were led by the holding firm and property counters while the industrial and services counters likewise firmed up. On the other hand, the financial and mining/oil counters slipped.

Value turnover was relatively thin at P6.24 billion. There were 98 advancers which edged out 73 decliners, while 47 stocks were unchanged.

The gainers were led by EDC and SM Prime, both of which rose by over 1 percent, while URC, FGEN and AGI all gained by over 1 percent. AC, BDO, ALI, DMCI and MPI also contributed to the day’s gains.

Outside of PSEi stocks, Da Vinci (+11.93 percent) was a notable gainer on the back of backdoor listing speculation.

On the other hand, LTG fell by 3.44 percent as the conglomerate said that it sees a challenging year ahead.

Megaworld, BPI and Jollibee also fell. Outside of PSEi stocks, Sinophil slipped by 9.29 percent on profit-taking.

Across the region, stock markets were mostly higher as investors cheered a firmer first quarter growth in Japan alongside the favorable US jobs data. Doris C. Dumlao