PSEi back at 6,700

The local stock barometer rallied to the 6,700 level Friday as investors picked up shares ahead of the Chinese New Year turnover and the corporate earnings reporting season.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) racked up 112.3 points or 1.69 percent to close at 6,765.13, tracking mostly firmer emerging markets in the region.

For this volatile week, the PSEi added 77.51 points or 1.15 percent.

“The market is holding on to recent gains,” said Alejandro Yu, president of local stockbrokerage RS Lim & Co., noting that the weakest sectors—gaming and mining—were recently aiding the rally. “But it looks like we’re ripe for reversal,” he said.

Considering that the overnight gain in the Dow Jones industrial index was small, Lim said this could be placing bets ahead of the long holiday break. However, he said this was unusual as the previous practice was to pare holdings ahead of long holiday breaks.

The market is heading for a long weekend in celebration of the Lunar New Year on Feb. 8, which will mark a shift to the “Year of the Fire Monkey.”

Lim said the recent moves of Chinese regulators to crack down on currency speculators and avoid a hard landing might have been the catalyst for the market. “They want to show they are in control,” he said. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla