PSEi rides on oil rebound

THE LOCAL stock barometer firmed up on Thursday as regional markets were perked up by the rebound in oil prices, which are now trading closer to the $46 per barrel level.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index added 56.48 points or 0.78 percent to close at 7,257.85. Investors were encouraged by the rally in oil prices, in turn driven by a pronouncement from Iraq that a new round of talks on oil price stabilization/production freeze may be pursued as early as next month.

At the local market, the day’s gains were led by the property counter which rose by 1.38 percent. The financial, holding firm, services and mining/oil counters all gained. Only the industrial sub-index slipped.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P6.52 billion. There were 105 advancers that edged out 83 decliners while 48 stocks were unchanged.

ALI led the PSEi higher with its 2.94 percent gain wile AC, Metrobank, JG Summit and Megaworld all advanced by over 1 percent. SMIC, SM Prime, BDO, GTCAP, AEV and AP all firmed up.

Outside of the PSEi, one notable gainer was NOW, which rallied by 21.51 percent and was the most heavily traded company at the market. This company has been rising in the last few weeks on the back of a shift-to-broadband play.

Retailer RRHI also gained 0.69 percent.

On the other hand, URC – the day’s most actively traded stock – fell by 1.76 percent. PLDT and MPI both slipped.

Outside of PSEi stocks, FNI slipped by 3.88 percent while Security Bank also fell by 1.44 percent.

It had been estimated by BPI economist Jun Neri that the Philippines is a net beneficiary of cheap oil for as long as global price stays within $40-$50 per barrel. The rebound to the $46 level is thus seen as favourable especially to millions of Filipino households who depend on remittances from oil-rich Middle East.