Investors cheer prospective US debt cap deal

MANILA  -Investors cheered as the US government moves to wrap up discussions on the debt ceiling, with the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) returning to green territory on Monday.

The benchmark PSEi climbed 0.96 percent, or 62.96 points, to settle at 6,593.16 while the broader All-Shares index rose 0.64 percent, or 22.33 points, to close at 3,510.41.“So far, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached a tentative deal to raise the debt ceiling over the weekend. For now, this is enough to boost the optimism among investors,” said Claire Alviar, Philstocks Financial Inc. assistant manager for research and online engagement.

The US debt ceiling refers to the amount of money the Biden administration is allowed to borrow.

“However, many investors remained on the sidelines, with a net value turnover of P3.15 billion only as investors would still be waiting for the final agreement,” she added.

All the subsectors ended in the green, with services index booking the most gains at 1.82-percent growth.

About 599.74 million shares valued at P3.29 billion were traded. Winners edged losers, 93 to 80, while 43 issues were unchanged. The shares of Ayala Corp., the most actively traded, increased by 0.87 percent to P692 each.

This was followed by SM Investments Corp., flat at P920; SM Prime Holdings, up 0.74 percent to P34.25; Ayala Land Inc., up 2.32 percent to P26.50; Petron Corp., down 13.98 percent to P4; and ACEN Corp., down 0.66 percent to P6.

Other active names were Universal Robina Corp., up 2.49 percent to P148; BDO Unibank, flat at P135; International Container Terminal Services, up 4.10 percent to P203; and Jollibee Foods Corp., up 1.89 percent to P237 per share. INQ

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