The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) rallied on Wednesday and reclaimed the 7,200 level after US stocks pushed higher and new COVID-19 cases in the country slowed after hitting a record high.
The PSEi jumped 1.83 percent, or 129.44 points, to 7,215 while the broader all-shares index advanced 1.44 percent, or 54.45 points, to 3,829.91.
Major indices in the United States finished higher after US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell told senators the US economy could withstand the ongoing COVID-19 surge and a tighter monetary policy regime.
“The absence of an ‘accelerated change in policy’ statement on Fed chair Jerome Powell’s testimony before a Senate panel also boosted the market’s appetite for risky assets,” Luis Gerardo Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital Development, said on Wednesday.
The Department of Health (DOH) reported on Tuesday that new COVID-19 infections eased lower to 28,007 cases from the previous day’s record high of 33,169. In data released on Wednesday after the market closed, the DOH said new infections popped higher to 32,246.
PSE subsectors rallied on Wednesday, led by mining and oil and property stocks, which jumped 3.4 percent and 3.26 percent, respectively.
Financials and holding firms also climbed 1.85 percent and 1.73 percent each, while industrial and services were up 0.7 percent and 0.77 percent.
Volume dropped lower from the previous session with 854.66 million shares valued at P5.94 billion traded on the PSE. Foreigners ended as net buyers to the tune of P313.75 million.
There were 133 gainers against 49 losers, while 50 companies closed unchanged.
AC Energy Corp. led the list of active stocks as it shed 1.64 percent to P9 per share.
It was followed by Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., up 3.41 percent to P57.70; Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corp., up 6.77 percent to P1.42; Ayala Land Inc., up 3.34 percent to P35.60; and BDO Unibank Inc., up 3.51 percent to P126.80 per share.
Other heavily traded companies were International Container Terminal Services Inc., up 0.82 percent to P195.70; SM Investments Corp., up 2.15 percent to P950; SM Prime Holdings Inc., 3.87 percent to P34.85; DITO CME Holdings Corp., up 9.15 percent to P5.37; and Ayala Corp., up 3.24 percent to P860 per share.