PSEi rallies back to 6,600

The local stock barometer rallied back to the 6,600 level Friday on follow-through buying inspired by the country’s better-than-expected fourth-quarter economic growth while the surprise monetary policy move of Bank of Japan boosted regional markets.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 124.24 points or 1.89 percent to close at 6,687.62.

Across the region, markets rallied after the Japanese central bank’s decision to adopt a “negative” interest rate policy to perk up the economy. This means that instead of the bank paying interest to depositors, the depositors must pay to be allowed to keep their money with the bank. This is a move seen to divert money away from banks to more productive sectors, thereby providing economic stimulus.

At the local market, there was also follow-through buying after Thursday’s announcement of a 6.3-percent economic growth in the Philippines in the fourth quarter of 2015, beating consensus estimates.

The day’s gains were led by the holding firms counter— considered a proxy to the overall economy—which rose 2.51 percent. The cyclical property counter also gained 2 percent while the industrial and services counters were up more than 1 percent. The financial counter was modestly higher. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla