Buying binge boosts PSEi

The local stock barometer gained sharply on Monday on the back of a last-minute buying binge after a long weekend break.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index racked up 101.62 points or 1.32 percent to close at 7,816.44.

All counters ended higher led by the property sub-index which rose by 2.12 percent and the services sub-index which went up by 1.45 percent.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P8.87 billion. There were 96 advancers that edged out 77 decliners while 56 stocks were unchanged.

The PSEi was led higher by fast-food giant Jollibee, which surged by 4.02 percent. This company had a strong performance from the start of the session, said Eagle Equities Inc. president Joseph Roxas. He noted that Jollibee was likely recovering from the sharp sell-down seen in the previous month.

Roxas said the local stock market would usually weaken in the month of April, a season for tax payments and long summer holidays but would usually pick up by May albeit not in a big way. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla