US economic rescue deal met with enthusiasm; PSEi also up

The local stock barometer rallied past the 5,000 mark on Wednesday as global investors cheered a forthcoming $2-trillion US stimulus package in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) racked up 253.49 points, or 5.31 percent, to close at 5,027.76, tracking the upswing across regional markets.

Investors took their cue from the overnight resurgence of US stocks on the heels of a stimulus package being prepared by Congress. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged by 11.36 percent or 2,112.98 points on Tuesday, posting its best single-day performance since 1933.

There was finally “a sigh of relief as the US markets roared back to life,” local stock brokerage Papa Securities said.

Papa Securities added it was “best to note however that cases still continue to climb significantly especially in the US—so there’s still the possibility that last night’s move was just an exhaustion bounce amidst a strong downtrend as the US is looking to surpass China’s number of cases soon.”

Local bargain hunters supported the day’s rally, making up for about P1.67 billion worth of net foreign selling.

All counters edged higher, led by the holding firm and property counters, both of which advanced by over 5 percent. The financial counter rose by nearly 5 percent while the industrial, services and mining/oil counters rose by 4.3 percent, 3.74 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P8.3 billion. There were 158 advancers that overwhelmed 44 decliners, while 29 stocks were unchanged.

The PSEi was led higher by Megaworld, which rose by 8.04 percent, while SM Investments and JG Summit both added over 7 percent.

BDO and BPI both gained over 6 percent, while Ayala Land, SM Prime, PLDT and Metro Pacific all climbed by over 5 percent.

AGI, Ayala Corp., ICTSI and First Gen all rose by over 4 percent, while Jollibee and URC both added over 3 percent. LTG Group went up by 2.9 percent.