PH shares snap four-day losing streak

MANILA  -Investors bought up shares after the Federal Reserves decided to maintain its policy rate, allowing the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) to find some reprieve after four days of losses.

The benchmark PSEi climbed by 0.89 percent, or 53.67 points, to close at 6,094.71 while the broader All-Shares index rose by 0.68 percent, or 22.41 points, to end at 3,294.07 by the closing bell.

“Philippine shares closed higher after the Fed said it would leave interest rates unchanged but expects another rate hike before the end of the year,” Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said.

Locally, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas kept the key policy rate at 6.25 percent, which was in line with the market expectation.

All of the sub sectors were in the green, except for services and mining and oil indices which slipped by 0.04 percent and 0.80 percent, respectively.

The most actively traded shares were Aboitiz Power, dropping by 2.44 percent to P30 each.

This was followed by Century Pacific Food Inc., up 1.97 percent to P31; Bloomberry Resorts Corp., down 1.08 percent to P11; BDO Unibank Inc., up 2.50 percent to P131; SM Prime Holdings Inc., up 3.45 percent to P29.95; and SM Investments Corp., up 0.51 percent to P793.50.

Other active names were Bank of the Philippine Islands, flat at P107; Ayala Land Inc., up 2.61 percent to P27.50; International Container Terminal Services Inc., down 0.59 percent to P202.80; and Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., up 1.81 percent to P53.50.