PSEi surges as investors pin hope on Fed easing rate hikes

MANILA  -Philippine stocks were mostly higher as investors bought up top conglomerates while following developments overseas.

By the closing bell, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 1.13 percent, or 70.29 points, to 6,295.29 while the broader All Shares index was up 0.82 percent, or 27.57 points, to 3,382.19.

“Sentiment was buoyed by the bigger than expected drop in US job openings and consumer confidence, with investors speculating that this could ease the pressure on the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates,” Juan Paolo Colet, managing director at investment bank China Bank Capital Corp., said on Wednesday.

“The PSEi may try to move above 6,300 as part of the market’s current rebound from oversold conditions, but selling pressure is expected to build as we approach the major resistance at 6,375,” he added.

A total of 672.7 million shares valued at P3.97 billion changed hands while net foreign selling reached P375.7 million, data from the stock exchange showed.

Save for property, which went down 0.004 percent, all subsectors closed higher with holding firms (+2.32 percent) and industrial (+1.23 percent) taking the lead.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp. was the top traded stock as it closed flat at P5.12 per share.

It was followed by SM Prime Holdings Inc., down 0.50 percent to P30.15; International Container Terminal Services Inc., down 0.37 percent to P212.80; BDO Unibank Inc., up 0.99 percent to P143; and Bank of the Philippine Islands, flat at P107.90 per share.

Ayala Corp. was up 0.16 percent to P616; ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.-Philippine Deposit Receipts, down 23.4 percent to P2; GT Capital Holdings Inc., up 2.52 percent to P569; SM Investments Corp., up 3.88 percent to P844; and Ayala Land Inc., up 0.70 percent to P28.70 per share.

Overall, there were 90 advancers against 82 losers while 62 companies closed unchanged, data from the stock exchange also showed.