Fitch upgrade lifts PSE index

The local stock barometer firmed up on Monday on good tidings brought by the fresh Philippine sovereign credit rating upgrade by global credit watchdog Fitch Ratings.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 53.87 points or 0.65 percent to close at 8,358.57, reversing early jitters in the telecommunications sector, which the government wants to open up to a new player.

The PSEi also tracked upbeat regional markets following another record finish by US stocks on Friday.

On Monday, most local stocks were initially sluggish due to telco concerns, but eventually rebounded as investors cheered the latest ratings upgrade for the Philippines.

Fitch Ratings upgraded its long-term foreign-currency credit rating on the Philippines sovereign to BBB with a stable outlook from BBB-, after holding a positive outlook for more than two years, since September 2015.

“This therefore should not come as a surprise and brings Fitch’s rating in line with Moody’s and S&P, which both rate the Philippines one notch above investment grade,” BDO Nomura said in a research note.

Fitch also acknowledged that the Duterte administration’s war on drugs had not gnawed on investor confidence and the positive economic growth outlook.

The PSEi was led higher by the financial and mining/oil counters, which both gained over 1 percent while the industrial, holding firm and property counters also contributed gains.

Only the services counter lost ground, declining by 1.37 percent as investors were jittery over Malacañang’s announcement that it would bring in China Telecoms as a third telco player.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P5.85 billion. There was meager net foreign selling of P7.6 million for the day.

There were 114 advancers that edged out 82 decliners while 42 stocks were unchanged.

The PSEi was boosted by the gains of BDO, which rose by 3.38 percent, while Metrobank, Metro Pacific and DMCI all added over 2 percent.