PSEi gains 1.1% mainly on US-China trade talk optimism

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) rose with regional bourses on optimism the United States and China will move closer to resolving a costly trade war as negotiators meet next month.

The PSEi rose 1.10 percent, or 86.85 points, to 7,979.66 while the broader all-shares index was up 1.29 percent, or 43.71 points, to 4,809.48.

All subsectors, save for mining and oil (down 0.19 percent), were up while volume rose on Friday.

The biggest subindex gainer was services, which rose 3.07 percent on the back of rallies from PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom. Financials rose 1.29 percent while holding firms were up 1.02 percent.

A total of 1.3 billion shares valued at P9.74 billion changed hands on Friday. Advancers outnumbered losers 126 to 72 while 35 companies closed unchanged.

Property giant Ayala Land Inc. was the most actively traded yesterday as it declined 0.84 percent to P47.30 per share.

It was followed by SM Prime Holdings, up 0.86 percent to P35.30, SM Investments Corp., up 0.59 percent to P1,026, Megaworld Corp., up 2.4 percent to P5.13, and BDO Unibank, up 1.36 percent to P149 per share.

Other actively traded stocks were Jollibee Foods Corp., up 1.8 percent to P237.80, Bank of the Philippine Islands, up 0.51 percent to P87.95, Universal Robina Corp., up 0.58 percent to P173, Security Bank Corp., up 4.4 percent to P204 and Ayala Corp., down 1.07 percent to P925 per share.