Fed vigil keeps PSEi from smashing 6,700

MANILA  -The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) tilted higher during the session but stopped short of making a decisive move above 6,700 ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting on Wednesday.

By the closing bell, the PSEi added 0.27 percent, or 18.02 points, to 6,679.13 while the broader All Shares index rose 0.16 percent, or 5.63 points, to 3,546.01.

“The focus will continue to be directed at the Fed’s interest rate policy decision and subsequent [press conference] with chair Jerome Powell. The market is pricing in around a 98-percent chance the central bank raises interest rates by 25 [basis points],” Luis Gerardo Limlingan, head of sales at stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development, said on Wednesday.

A total of 463.23 million shares valued at P4.44 billion changed hands while foreigners were net sellers of an amount totaling P140.3 million, data from the stock exchange showed.

PSE subsectors were mixed as mining and oil, holding firms and services closed positive while property, industrial and financials pulled back.