Corporate earnings lift PSEi in another muted trade

MANILA  -The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed above 6,500 on Thursday, ahead of the long weekend and during another low-volume session.

The benchmark measure rose 1.15 percent, or 74.09 points, to 6,520.44 while the broader All Shares index added 0.70 percent, or 24.14 points, to 3,488.26.

Trading volume was relatively thin as 583.9 million shares valued at P3.82 billion changed hands while foreigners were net buyers of an amount worth P508.2 million, data showed.

There will be no trading Friday, April 21, which was declared a holiday in observance of Eid al-Fitr or the Feast of Ramadan.

“The bulls were hailed as the victors in the local bourse as investors digested [first quarter 2023] corporate earnings,” Luis Gerardo Limlingan, head of sales at stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development, said in a note to investors.

PSE subsectors closed up, save for mining and oil, which sank 1.31 percent.

Financials rose 2.52 percent after major lenders BDO Unibank and Bank of the Philippine Islands reported strong first-quarter earnings.

Overall, there were 94 advancers against 88 losers while 41 companies closed unchanged.

—Miguel R. Camus