Bargain hunting lifts stocks index; peso ends sideways

Risk-on sentiments reigned in the local bourse on Wednesday partly due to the decline of US Treasury rates while the local currency finished the trade sideways against the greenback despite touching the 50-level mid-trade.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 1.83 percent, or 129.44 points, to 7,215.13 points.

All Shares followed with a jump of 1.44 percent, or 54.45 points, to 3,829.91 points.

The Mining and Oil index posted the highest increase among the sectoral indexes after it climbed by 3.40 percent.

It was trailed by the Property, 3.26 percent; Financials, 1.85 percent; Holding Firms, 1.73 percent; Services, 0.77 percent; and Industrial, 0.70 percent.

Volume was thin at 854.663 million shares amounting to PHP5.95 billion.

Gainers surpassed losers at 133 to 49, while 50 shares were unchanged.

Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corporation (RCDC) head of sales, said “investors turned bargain hunters in the Philippines as the 10-year treasury yield cooled.”

Reports said 10-year US Treasury yield slipped to 1.74 percent from 1.77 percent on Monday.

“The absence of an ‘accelerated change in policy’ statement of Fed(eral) Chairman Jerome Powell’s testimony before a Senate panel also boosted the market’s appetite for risky assets,” Limlingan said.

Meanwhile, the peso finished the day at 51.19 against the US dollar, little changed against its 51.14 close a day ago.

It opened the day at a better level of 51.00 compared to the previous session’s 51.25 start.

It traded between 51.26 and 50.94, bringing the day’s average to 51.1.

Volume totaled USD1.11 billion, lower than the previous day’s USD1.22 billion.

Source: Philippines News Agency

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