PSEi back to 7,000

THE LOCAL stock barometer surged back to the 7,000 level on Tuesday as prospects of easy monetary policy by major central banks boosted foreign investors’ risk appetite.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index racked up 93.56 points or 1.34 percent to close at 7,055.49, gaining ground for the second straight session.

All counters firmed up, led by the services sector which rose by 2.51 percent while the financial, industrial and holding firms likewise advanced by over 1 percent.

Value turnover for the day was heavy at P13.62 billion. There were 113 advancers that outnumbered 67 decliners while 46 stocks were unchanged.

Foreign investors were in a net buying position for the fifth straight session, resulting in net inflows of P114 million for the day.

PLDT and ICTSI led the PSEi higher, both rising by over 3 percent while ALI, BDO, BPI and Megaworld all rose by over 2 percent.

URC, GTCAP, JG Summit, Metro Pacific, AGI and Semirara all went up by over 1 percent.

SMIC, AC and Jollibee also gained.

On the other hand, SM Prime and Metrobank bucked the day’s upswing, respectively declining by 2.33 percent and 1.41 percent. Meralco was likewise down by 0.2 percent. FGEN preferred shares were down by 0.54 percent.

Across the region, stock markets were mostly higher on hopes that the US Federal Reserve will no longer hike interest rates for the rest of the year. There were likewise expectations that Bank of Japan may also expand monetary stimulus.