The local stock barometer climbed past the 9,000 barrier for the first time in history on Friday as fund managers scouted for fresh buying opportunities in anticipation of another strong year for equities.
After a sluggish start, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained ground in afternoon trade, ending the session up by 42.03 points or 0.47 percent to a new record high of 9,041.20, which likewise marked a new intra-day peak.
“The outlook on the market is still positive and fund managers are deploying fund allocations for the year,” said Gonzalo Benjamin Bongolan, head of merchant banking group at local investment house Philippine Commercial Capital Corp.
Other dealers said many investors were just waiting for corrections as the market’s rise had been steep in the first two weeks of this year.
“While the PSEi was unsuccessful in its two attempts earlier this week to break the 9,000 level, today the index finally penetrated this important mark. The journey to record territory reflects the high confidence investors have in our market,” said PSE president Ramon Monzon.
Since the start of the year, the PSEi has broken through new record highs for a total of eight times.
“We are hopeful that the market’s level will be sustained on the back of solid macroeconomic fundamentals and on expectations of upbeat corporate earnings from our listed companies. Our market is likewise in sync with regional bourses that have reached record highs this month,” Monzon added.
Year-to-date, the PSEi has gained 5.6 percent.
Elsewhere in the region, stock markets were mostly upbeat on Friday.
At the local market, the PSEi was led higher by the holding firm counter, which added 1.02 percent, while the industrial, services and property counters also firmed up.
On the other hand, the financial and mining/oil counters slipped.
Value turnover for the day amounted to P7.83 billion. Domestic investors fuelled the day’s record rise as foreign investors were net sellers amounting to P242.25 million.
There were 110 advancers that beat 97 decliners while 52 stocks were unchanged.
The country’s largest conglomerate SM Investments Corp. led the PSEi’s upswing, advancing by 3.64 percent.
Ayala Land rose by 1.06 percent while BDO Unibank, SM Prime, Ayala Corp., Puregold, URC, AGI and GT Capital all contributed gains.
Outside of the PSEi, notable gainers included construction group Megawide, which added 4.85 percent.
Now Corp., an aspiring third telecom player, rose by 3.21 percent.
On the other hand, Metrobank declined by 2.31 percent while LTG and DMCI both fell by over 1 percent.
Security Bank, Megaworld and BPI all slipped.
Notable decliners outside the PSEi included East West Bank, which fell by 4.12 percent.
For the week, the PSEi racked up a total of 125.28 points or 1.4 percent.