PSEi hits new high

The local stock barometer broke a key barrier near 6,900 Friday to hit a new peak for the year as investors took their cue from lower-than-expected Philippine inflation for June and record-high US stocks.

Rising for the third straight session, the main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) added 62.97 points or 0.91 percent to close at 6,962.28, its best finish for the year.

All counters moved higher but the biggest gainer was the property sub-index (+1.47 percent) on reports that the inflation rate for June was at 4.4 percent, slower than the market consensus of 4.6 percent.

Value turnover was at P8.8 billion. There were 93 advancers that edged out 85 decliners while 47 stocks were unchanged.

“It’s a breakout,” said Joseph Roxas, president of local stockbrokerage Eagle Equities Inc., noting the piercing of a key resistance at 6,906.

Roxas said this would now allow the PSEi to next target 7,000 and then 7,100.

Apart from the relief over the latest inflation data, risk-appetite was likewise boosted by an overnight rally in Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial index breached 17,000 for the first time on reports that the US jobless rate had fallen near a six-year low of 6.1 percent.

Investors snapped up shares of SM Prime and SM Investments (both up 2 percent) while Ayala Land, Megaworld, BPI, Energy Development Corp. and DMCI were all up by more than 1 percent. Doris C. Dumlao