PSEi draws support from foreign investors

Foreign buying supported the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) on Monday, ending in the green for a second consecutive trading day.

The benchmark PSEi climbed 1.78 percent, or 110.05 points, to close at 6,295.58.

Claire Alviar, Philstocks Financial Inc. assistant manager for research and online engagement, said that net foreign buying of P391.21 million had buoyed the main index.

She added that investors had picked up shares on the “hopes that the Federal Reserve would slow down on future interest rate hikes.” This was after the Fed expressed the need to raise interest rates anew to control inflation.

All sectors rose, except for the mining and oil index which dropped 1.04 percent. Property had the most gains at 3.45 percent, followed by services which added 1.78 percent.

About 337.75 million shares amounting to P4.48 billion were traded. Advancers led decliners, 117 to 62.

Shares of International Container Terminal Services Inc., the most actively traded, surged 6.86 percent.

Shares of BDO Unibank Inc., SM Prime Holdings and Ayala Corp. rose by 2.36 percent, 5.26 percent and 4.95 percent, respectively.

—Tyrone Jasper C. Piad INQ