PSEi touches 7,000 in intraday trade

The local stock barometer retested the 7,000 mark in intraday trade Monday as investors took position ahead of the release of key second-quarter earnings results and digested the local central bank’s tightening moves.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 104.14 points or 1.51 percent to close at 6,998.37. The index hit an intraday high of 7,005.71 before paring gains at the close.

“I think that a lot of investors are speculating over earnings releases over the next couple of weeks,” said Jose Mari Lacson, head of research at local stockbrokerage Campos Lanuza & Co.

Lacson noted that the two biggest companies in terms of market capitalization would be reporting this week—PLDT on today and SM Investments on Thursday. Doris C. Dumlao