PSEi soars past 7,300 as US Fed jitters fizzle out

The stock barometer surged to the 7,300 level on Friday as the US Federal Reserve’s less hawkish stance boosted risk-taking appetite.

Rising for the second straight session on Friday, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 66.42 points or 0.91 percent to close at 7,345.02. The local index outperformed regional markets.

For the week, the PSEi racked up 198.75 points or 2.8 percent.

“Risk-love is in euphoria, expectations elevated, and economic surprises at peak,” investment house BofA Merrill Lynch said in a research note.

While the US Federal Reserve recently hiked interest rates by 25 basis points, its subsequent statements quashed earlier fears of a faster pace of tightening moving forward.
On Friday, the day’s gains were led by the cyclical financial and property counters, which both advanced by over
1 percent.

Only the industrial counter ended lower.

Value turnover for the day amounted to nearly P14 billion. Foreign investors were in a net buying position amounting to P169 million.

There were 103 advancers that beat 78 decliners, while 58 stocks were unchanged.

JG Summit led the PSEi higher with its 4.18 percent gain, while BPI and RLC both added over 3 percent.

EDC gained over 2 percent while ALI, BDO, SM Investments and ICTSI all rose by over 1 percent.

SM Prime, Ayala Corp., PLDT and Security Bank all firmed up.

Meanwhile, Metro Pacific, URC and AEV all tumbled by over 2 percent.

DMCI, GT Capital and Jollibee all slipped by over 1 percent.

Cemex continued to slide yesterday by 3.23 percent.