PSEi returns to 6,900

THE LOCAL stock barometer returned to the 6,900 level on Tuesday, bucking a regional downturn triggered by sluggish export data out of China.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 22.82 points or 0.33 percent to close at 6,915.51, reversing losses early in the session.

The local market was led by the mining/oil counter which rose by 2.51 percent while the holding firms and services likewise firmed up.

On the other hand, the financial, industrial and property counters ended in negative territory.

Dealers said the index had swung to positive territory following the recovery in selected large-cap stocks.

Despite the PSEi’s rebound, market breadth was negative as there were more decliners (96) than advancers (86).

The PSEi was led higher by Petron (+3 percent) while GTCAP and SMIC both rose by 2 percent. Index heavyweight PLDT likewise added 1.16 percent.

SM Prime, JG Summit and AC also eked out most gains.

Outside of the PSEi, the notable gainers were Philex (+6.73 percent) and Double Dragon (+8.62 percent).

On the other hand, ALI, AGI and FGEN slipped by over 1 percent. URC, Metrobank, BDO, MPI and Globe also declined.

One big decliner for the day was DAVIN, which lost 18.96 percent, thus giving up the hefty gain seen on Monday.