The stock barometer scaled new heights beyond the 8,100 mark on Thursday as investors took their cue from record-high stocks trading on Wall Street.
The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) racked up 91.03 points or 1.13 percent to close at its best ever finish of 8,144.91. This beat the PSEi’s previous all-time high closing of 8,127.48 posted on April 10, 2015.
The PSEi hit as high as 8,169.64 in intraday trade, likewise beating the previous intraday record high of 8,136.97 posted on April 7, 2015.
“The stock market’s surge … underpins investor confidence in the local economy and in the Philippine capital markets. The Philippines remains a favorite among emerging markets as it continues to provide attractive returns,” said PSE president and chief executive Ramon Monzon.
Local investors powered the PSEi’s ascent, while foreign investors were net sellers with transactions amounting to P99.8 million.
Veteran stock broker Joseph Roxas, president of Eagle Equities Inc., said the stock market tracked the performance of its US counterparts. “It’s due to better unemployment and export data,” he said.
Roxas also said the so-called ghost month—a period of caution for many investors—was nearing its end. The last day of the ghost month is on Sept. 19.
Value turnover for the day amounted to P8.45 billion.
Since the start of the year, the PSEi has gained 19.1 percent.
All counters ended in the green, led by the holding firm, mining/oil and property counters, which all advanced by over 1 percent.
There were 111 advancers edging out 85 decliners; while 62 stocks were unchanged.
The PSEi was led higher by JG Summit, which surged by 4.83 percent, while Semirara and GT Capital both gained over 3 percent.
SM Prime rose by 2.99 percent while Ayala Land, SM Investments, Megaworld, DMCI and Jollibee all gained over 1 percent.
BDO Unibank, Metrobank and PLDT also firmed up.
Outside of PSEi stocks, one notable gainer was Filinvest Land, which climbed by 4.23 percent.
Metro Pacific, Ayala Corp., Puregold and BPI ended slightly lower.
One notable decliner outside PSEi stocks was integrated gaming resort operator Melco Resorts, which lost 3.3 percent.