Strong peso, steady rates help PSEi hit stride this week

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained further ground on Friday after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) kept interest rates steady, pushing up weekly gains by 0.5 percent.

The PSEi added 0.33 percent, or 20.41 points, to 6,211.89 while the broader All Shares index was up 0.31 percent, or 10.28 points, to 3,324.77.

Michael Ricafort, chief economist at the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said stocks rose “a day after the widely expected pause in local policy rates.”

Investors also cheered “the strongest peso exchange rate versus the US dollar in more than 3.5 months that could help ease import prices and overall inflation,” Ricarfort added.

Trading volume hit 461.72 million with a value turnover of P4.93 billion, data from the exchange showed. Foreigners were also net sellers of an amount worth P61.7 million.

Meanwhile, PSE subsectors were mixed, with gainers led by industrial (+0.92 percent), holding firms (+0.82 percent) and mining and oil (+0.003 percent). Property slipped by 0.22 percent, followed by financials and services, down 0.19 percent and 0.09 percent, respectively.

BDO Unibank Inc. was the top traded stock as it climbed 0.62 percent to P130.20 per share.

Ayala Corp. was up 2.94 percent to P647; San Miguel Corp., was flat at P103.50; Jollibee Foods Corp., up 2.22 percent to P230; and Ayala Land Inc., down 0.34 percent to P29.70 per share.

International Container Terminal Services Inc. closed flat at P211; SM Investments Corp., up 1.48 percent to P855; ACEN Corp., down 1.80 percent to P4.90; SM Prime Holdings Inc., down 0.47 percent to P31.50; and Bloomberry Resorts Corp., down 0.62 percent to P9.60 per share.

Overall, there were 88 losers against 80 gainers while 53 companies closed unchanged, data from the stock exchange showed.

—Miguel R. Camus