PSEi ends marginally higher

The local stock barometer ended slightly higher Monday, bouncing back from the bloodbath in the last two trading days.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) closed at 7,306.69, gaining 7.66 points or 0.11 percent. Elsewhere in the region, most markets also ended higher.

The property sector led the PSEi higher with its 1.18-percent gain. The financial, industrial and holding firm counters also firmed up. On the other hand, the services and mining and oil sectors went down by less than 1 percent.

BDO chief strategist Jonathan Ravelas downplayed Monday’s gain, calling it “nothing but a technical bounce” after a two-day decline.

He noted that concerns about valuation had caused the PSEi to decline by 235.27 points in the last two days. At the same time, he said investors had pocketed gains after the announcement of the 6.9-percent first-quarter Philippine gross domestic product growth.

He said he expected the PSEi to trade this week at the 7,000-7,200 levels. Bernadette D. Nicolas