PSEi rises above 7,300

THE LOCAL stock barometer firmed up above 7,300 on Monday even as regional markets traded with mixed sentiments.

Rising for the third straight session, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) added 69.67 points or 0.95 percent to close at 7,376.41. The index hit a high of 7,412.33 in intraday trade.

Value turnover amounted to P8.67 billion. There were 104 advancers that edged out 79 decliners while 35 stocks were unchanged.

SM Prime and JG Summit led the PSEi’s rise, each gaining more than 3 percent. URC and GTCAP rose more than 2 percent while AC, Globe and Meralco gained over 1 percent. ALI and BDO also firmed up.

Semirara declined by 1.85 percent while PLDT, Jollibee, MPI, Metrobank and EDC all slipped.

“Investors may have to accept lower returns across the whole spectrum of asset classes going forward. However, if we can get used to the idea, it may be a good thing in the long run. Lowering return expectations should reduce the need to chase assets and would probably reduce over-extended positioning. This could, in turn, reduce volatility,” Citigroup said in a research note Monday. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla