PSEi returns to 7,600 mark

THE LOCAL stock barometer surged for the sixth session on Wednesday, breaching the 7,600 mark on hopes for monetary easing amid benign local inflation rate.

The Philippine Stock Exchange racked up 64.26 points or 0.85 percent to close at 7,662.55 as investors likewise priced in recent corporate earnings reports and anticipated future reports.

Most of the counters advanced, led by the interest rate-sensitive property counter which rose by 1.69 percent. Only the mining/oil counter ended lower.

Value turnover stood at P9.04 billion. There were 94 advancers that eclipsed 69 decliners while 47 stocks were unchanged.

Leading the PSEi gainers was LTG which added 3.04 percent while URC and ALI rose by over 2 percent. BDO, GTCAP and SMIC all advanced by over 1 percent.

Globe, PLDT, SM Prime and JG Summit also contributed to the PSEi’s gains.

One notable gainer outside of the PSEi was D&L which gained 3.64 percent in heavy trade.

On the other hand, Megaworld and Jollibee slumped by over 1 percent while Metrobank, FGEN and MPI also slipped.

It was reported on Wednesday that Philippine inflation rate in July eased to 0.8 percent year-on-year compared to 1.2 percent in June, raising prospects of monetary easing by the local central bank.