PLDT, Converge propel PSEi past 6,700

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rallied above 6,700 on Wednesday, lifted by telco and internet stocks such as PLDT Inc. and Converge ICT Solutions Inc.

The PSEi closed higher by 2.01 percent, or 132.49 points, to 6,718.50 while the broader All Shares Index added 1.74 percent, or 60.37 points, to 3,537.07.

Trading activity also recovered from the holiday slump, with 1.4 billion shares valued at P6.7 billion changing hands while foreigners ended up net buyers of the amount P333.74 million, stock exchange data showed.

Bounce back

PLDT shares jumped nearly 7 percent on Wednesday. The telco giant was among the top losers in recent weeks after revealing a P48-billion overspending that spanned four years.

Converge also rallied 8.7 percent amid plans to provide connectivity services in Singapore.

Luis Gerardo Limlingan, head of sales at stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development, said the local market benefited from foreign capital inflows.

“Investors continued to flock to [the] Philippines after weighing the rising rate concerns, high inflation and recessionary fears in the other regions,” he said in a note to investors on Wednesday. PLDT was the top traded stock as it rose 6.86 percent to P1,448 per share.

It was followed by Ayala Land Inc., up 2.8 percent to P31.25; ACEN Corp., up 4.76 percent to P8.37; BDO Unibank Inc., up 3.34 percent to P111.50; and SM Investments Corp., up 2.33 percent to P921 per share.

SM Prime Holdings Inc. was up 4.85 percent to P36.75; Converge ICT Solutions, up 8.67 percent to P16.80; DMCI Holdings Inc., up 1.37 percent to P11.80; Bloomberry Resorts Corp., up 5.47 percent to P8.49; and International Container Terminal Services Inc., down 0.25 percent to P197.50 per share.

Overall, there were 122 advancers against 72 losers while 47 companies closed unchanged.