PH equity mart cheers BSP’s inflation-busting move

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) crawled above 6,400 on Thursday as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) delivered an expected interest rate increase of 75 basis points.

The PSEi ended the session at 6,403.74, up 0.18 percent or 11.65 points, while the broader All Shares index rose 0.36 percent, or 12.30 points, to 3,388.60.

The rate hike was expected after BSP Governor Felipe Medalla announced he would match the 75-point increase recently implemented by the US Federal Reserve in an effort to fight soaring inflation.

The local interest rate, which will jump to 5 percent, will take effect on Nov. 18.

Meanwhile, trading volume remained elevated with 582.7 million shares valued at P7.3 billion changing hands.

Foreigners were net sellers in the amount of P557.13 million, data from the stock exchange showed.

Subsectors closed mixed as industrial, property and holding firms rose while financials, services and mining and oil pulled back.

Universal Robina Corp. was the top traded stock as it rose 2.72 percent to P132.20 per share.

It was followed by BDO Unibank Inc., down 0.39 percent to P128.50; Ayala Land Inc., up 2.52 percent to P28.50; SM Investments Corp., down 0.34 percent to P867; and Converge ICT Solutions Inc., down 0.53 percent to P15 per share.

PLDT Inc. was up 1.68 percent to P1,578; AbaCore Capital Holdings Inc., up 3.83 percent to P2.71; International Container Terminal Services Inc., down 1.76 percent to P184.20; Jollibee Foods Corp., down 0.41 percent to P242; and Bank of the Philippine Islands, down 0.83 percent to P95.80 per share.

Overall, there were 95 advancers against 83 losers while 48 companies closed unchanged, data from the stock exchange showed.