Philippine Stock Exchange. AFP FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—The local stock barometer finished beyond the 7,000-mark for the first time in 15 months on Thursday as select large-cap stocks benefited from the latest MSCI index weight re-balancing alongside good tidings from an overnight Wall Street rally.
The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index racked up 74.76 points or 1.07 percent to close at 7,061, closing past the 7,000 mark for the first time since May 31 2013.
PLDT led the day’s upswing, rising by 4.03 percent and was the most actively traded stock as the index heavyweight got a further weight boost in the closely tracked MSCI. ALI, the second most actively traded stock, rose by 0.95 percent. It was likewise among those benefiting from increased MSCI weight.
On the other hand, URC—said to be among those which would have weight reduction alongside parent JG summit—fell by 0.91 percent.
Dealers said the MSCI rebalancing, set to take effect after the end of this month, thus gave the PSEi the fuel to retest the 7,000 level.
Risk appetite was also buoyed by the overnight upswing of US stocks as investors bet on a more accommodative US Federal Reserve stance after the weak retail sales report came out. Value turnover for the day amounted to P11.29 billion as index-tracking fund managers scrambled to adjust their portfolios in line with the latest MSCI quarterly rebalancing.
Overall market breadth was positive, with 98 advancers edging out 83 decliners while 48 stocks were unchanged.
Another big index gainer was AC (+3.38 percent), which reported a 34-percent growth in six months and is also seen benefiting from ALI’s increased weight. GTCAP (+3.29 percent) was likewise a big index gainer along with its banking unit Metrobank (+1.68 percent). Another out-performer was EDC (+2.49 percent).
MPI (+1.18 percent) also contributed to the day’s gains alongside BDO, Meralco, SM Prime, SMIC and Globe.
RELATED STORY
PSEi flat as investors play safe