Index jumps as investors pick up cheap stocks
Bargain-hunting activities continued yesterday, lifting the local stock market for a second straight session.
Manila, Philippines — The Philippine stock market experienced a significant rally on Wednesday, propelled by bargain-hunting investors and foreign buying interest. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 2.11 percent or 119.53 points, concluding the week at 5,782.70. The broader All Shares index also saw a 1.39 percent increase, closing at 3,218.81.
All sectors, except for holding firms, demonstrated positive performance. The services index led the gains with a 4.09 percent surge. Franco Fernandez, an equity research analyst at DragonFi Securities Inc., attributed the PSEi's strong closing to foreign investors turning net buyers. Leading stocks included ICTSI (+4.81 percent to P860), PLDT (+4.17 percent to P1,250), BPI (+3.53 percent to P99.80), and RL Commercial REIT (+9.05 percent to P6.75).
Fernandez noted that this was the PSEi's strongest close since September 28, driven by technical rebounds and limited domestic catalysts, a peso trading above 63 against the dollar, and persistent global economic concerns. Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital suggested that market sentiment might have benefited from potential fund reallocation due to MSCI's downgrade warning on Indonesia, potentially redirecting some foreign investments toward emerging markets like the Philippines.
Advancers outnumbered decliners 106 to 78, with a total value turnover of P8.51 billion, up from P6.99 billion the previous day.
Written by urgent.news from Philippine Star Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
