Bulls regain control of Philippine stock market

PSE breakout

MANILA, Philippines — The bulls regained control of the local stock market on Monday, allowing the local stock barometer to breach 8,300 and close at its highest level in 16 months.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) racked up 223.47 points or 2.74 percent to close at 8,365.29. This marked its highest finish since ending at 8,365.29 on March 13, 2018.

This was also the PSEi’s best single day performance in 10 months.

Drawing strength from upbeat US stock markets and dovish outlook from both the US Federal Reserve and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the PSEi has risen by over 20 percent since bottoming out at 6,790.50.  Last year, concerns on the country’s rising inflation rate gnawed on stock market sentiment.

This year, the regime of benign local inflation is back, boosting prospects for a double-digit growth in corporate earnings alongside a buoyant domestic economy.