The local stock market extended its gains for the third straight session on Friday, riding on Wall Street’s upswing ahead of a highly anticipated US central bank symposium.
The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) rose by 46.07 points, or 0.69 percent, to close at 6,752.50, driven by selective buying of large-cap stocks.
Joseph Roxas, president of local stock brokerage Eagle Equities, said the positive sentiment was influenced by the overnight gains in the US market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average racked up 322.55 points or 0.98 percent on Thursday, while S&P 500 climbed 58.35 points or 1.41 percent.
Roxas said investors were looking forward to the speech of US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell at a symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday.
“Wall Street is hoping for new guidance on how the central bank will act this autumn, but expectations are lower, with many expecting Powell to slow inflation by raising interest rates,” said Luis Gerardo Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development.
PCE report
“Besides the symposium, investors are also keeping tabs on one of the Fed’s favorite inflation measures, the PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index) report, which is due Friday,” he added.
At the local market, the financial sector outperformed other counters with its 1.93-percent gain.
The property counter rose 0.96 percent, while industrial and holding firms added less than 1 percent.
The services and mining/oil counters both slipped.
About P10.56 billion worth of stocks changed hands at the local bourse. Domestic hands kept the market afloat, while foreign investors had a net selling position amounting to P213 million.
Despite the PSEi’s gain, decliners edged out advancers, 89 to 88, while 47 companies were unchanged.
Ayala Land, BDO, AEV and BPI contributed to the PSEi’s gains, all rising by over 2 percent.
The local stock barometer’s upswing, however, was tempered by the 6.84-percent decline of AC Energy and the 1.64-percent slump of Ayala Corp.
SM Investments and Converge ICT both shed less than 1 percent.
The gains eked out by the market in the last three days were not enough to reverse losses incurred earlier in the week. The PSEi ended 111.36 points or 1.6-percent below last week’s finish of 6,863.86.