PSEi picks up speed after June inflation outcome

Philippine shares extended gains as investors continued to weigh recent inflation data while foreigners were net buyers on Wednesday.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) jumped 2.14 percent, or 135.02 points, to 6,445.01 while the broader All Shares index added 1.3 percent, or 44.20 points, to 3,442.90.

Trading activity perked up, with 915.72 million shares valued at P5.32 billion changing hands.

Stocks continued to rally after the government announced June inflation at 6.1 percent—comfortably within expectations, despite accelerating at its fastest pace in four years.

“With inflation still on the rise, we continue to expect rate hikes from the [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or BSP] until the end of the year,” Bank of the Philippine Islands said in a report.

“A higher inflation print in the coming months may lead to a situation that could force the BSP to do bigger hikes, similar to what happened in 2018. Hiking the policy rate by 50 [basis points] now rather than later may help in mitigating the risk of bigger hikes in the future that could cause more volatility in the markets,” it added.

Foreigners also provided relief on Wednesday as they edged out sellers by P93.2 million, PSE data showed.

Universal Robina Corp. was the most actively traded during the session as it jumped 3.68 percent to P118.20 per share.

It was followed by Ayala Land Inc., up 1.89 percent to P26.90; SM Investments Corp., up 5.93 percent to P839; SM Prime Holdings Inc., up 0.67 percent to P37.75; and BDO Unibank Inc., up 0.67 percent to P119.50.

PLDT Inc. shed 0.96 percent to P1,758, followed by Ayala Corp., up 4.84 percent to P650; Semirara Mining and Power Corp., down 2.02 percent to P36.35; JG Summit Holdings Inc., down 2.44 percent to P52.50; and Converge ICT Solutions Inc., up 0.24 percent to P20.95.

Overall, there were 114 advancers against 71 decliners while 47 companies closed unchanged, PSE data showed.

—Miguel R. Camus