PH stocks gain on Fed news

MANILA, Philippines–The local stock index on Thursday gained for a third session in a row as investors weighed in the US Federal Reserve’s recent monetary announcement.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index added 55.45 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 7,287.29. Across regional markets, trading was mixed after the US Fed said federal fund rates would remain low for a “considerable time,” although it indicated that rates could rise more sharply than initially expected.

Some investors took their cue from the Dow Jones Industrial index, which firmed up by 24.88 points overnight.

At the local market, all counters ended higher, but the biggest gainer was the industrial counter (+1.09 percent).

Value turnover for the day amounted to P7.99 billion. There were slightly more advancers (85) than decliners (82), while 56 stocks were unchanged.

The PSEi was led higher by SM Prime and Jollibee, which both surged by 3.75 percent. Investors also picked up shares of BPI, EDC, SMIC, Semirara and FGEN.

In the case of the SM group, the two prospective reclamation projects in Pasay and Parañaque, with a combined area of 600 hectares, are expected to significantly add to SM Prime’s net asset value. The projects are still subject to regulatory approvals.

URC, Metrobank, ICTSI, BDO and Petron also contributed to the day’s gains.

On the other hand, Megaworld (-1.12 percent) continued to trade with caution, while PLDT, ALI, DMCI and Bloomberry likewise ended lower.–Doris C. Dumlao