Stocks rally on Greece deal

The local stock barometer rallied sharply Monday as debt-strapped Greece clinched a new bailout deal with the European Union while China’s asset markets stabilized after a four-week freefall.

Tracking the upswing in regional markets, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) racked up 103.74 points or 1.4 percent  to close at 7.496.33 albeit in thin trade.

Fears of a “Grexit” or Greek exit from the euro zone were allayed as EU announced “en-Greekment” or an agreement to continue supporting debt-strapped Greece after a closely watched 17-hour summit in Brussels. A fund will be set up to recapitalize Greek banks and address debt. The three-year deal requires a number of structural reforms in Greece such as the privatization of state assets as well as changes in the pension program and labor markets.

“The market joined most major global markets in a collective sigh of relief on news that Greece was able to strike a bailout deal,” said Manuel Lisbona, deputy chief of local
stock brokerage PNB Securities. “While today’s (Monday’s) close at 7,496 brings the index a bit above its 200-day moving average, the index has to decisively break above 7,580 and 7,660 to convince more bulls to reenter the market.”

All counters firmed up, led by the property counter, which rose 2.63 percent. The holding firm and mining/oil counters also advanced by over 1.8 percent.

Value turnover was thin at P4.76 billion. There were 107 advancers, which overwhelmed 64 decliners, while 37 stocks were unchanged.

SMIC led the PSEi’s rise, surging 4.06 percent, while ALI and Megaworld both rose more than 3 percent.  Doris Dumlao-Abadilla