PSEi springs back to 7,200 level

A Filipino trader blows a horn during the last day of trading  at the Philippine Stock Exchange in the financial district of Makati, south of Manila, Philippines. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The local stock index sprang back to the 7,200 level on Wednesday as news of fresh China stimuli and an overnight rally on Wall Street whetted risk appetite across most regional markets.

Rebounding for a second session in a row, the Philippine Stock Exchange index added 51.5 points or 0.72 percent to close at 7,231.84.

Overnight, US stocks gained on increasing bets that the US Federal Reserve, which was on a two-day policy meeting, would remain biased for keeping low interest rates.

Regional markets also cheered following reports that China may implement more stimulus measures.

At the local market, all counters were up, but the biggest gainer was the industrial sub-index, which rose by 1 percent.

Turnover for the day amounted to P8.11 billion.

There were 107 gainers against 71 decliners while 45 stocks were unchanged.

The day’s gains were led by FGEN, which rallied by 2.71 percent while URC, ALI and BPI rose by over 1 percent. AC, EDC, BDO, AP and Megaworld also contributed to the day’s gains.

Outside of PSEi stocks, investors also picked up shares of Security Bank (+3.42 percent) and Puregold (+2.45 percent). RRHI and D&L also gained in heavy trade.

On the other hand, investors sold down shares of PLDT, AGI, Metrobank and Globe.

On Wall Street on Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Index racked up 100.83 points or 0.59 percent to close at 17,131.97.

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