Investor appetite for equities on the rise
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was buoyed on Monday by positive sentiment arising from the rebounding peso and softening oil prices alongside expectations that the monetary policy tightening cycle may soon wane.
The benchmark PSEi rose by 1.13 percent, or 74.53 points, to end at 6,681.47 while the broader All-Shares Index climbed by 0.83 percent, or 28.73 points, to conclude at 3,481.17.
“Hopes of a slowdown in the Federal Reserve and the BSP’s (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) monetary tightening continue to fuel optimism,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. senior research analyst Japhet Louis Tantiangco said.
“The peso’s sustained position above the 57 per $1 level and the decline in global oil prices also gave sentiment a boost,” he added.
All sectors were in the green except for property, which fell by 0.58 percent. Mining & oil index was the biggest winner with 4.21-percent gain, followed by services with 3.14-percent increase.
About 729.87 million shares amounting to P8.68 billion changed hands. Advancers led decliners, 112 to 77, while 40 issues were unchanged.
Shares of SM Investments Corp. were the most actively traded, rising by 1.87 percent to P927.
This was followed by Ayala Corp., which went up 0.72 percent to P700 per share; Ayala Land Inc., up 1.87 percent to P29.95; BDO Unibank Inc., down 0.38 percent to P131; GT Capital Holdings Inc., up 2.62 percent to P470; and International Container Terminal Services Inc., up 7.05 percent to P198.90.
Other active names were: Bank of the Philippine Islands, up 0.29 percent to P102.40; PLDT Inc., up 2.70 percent to P1,710; Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., up 1.96 percent to P57.25; and Jollibee Foods Corp., down 1.19 percent to P249.
