Dovish Fed helps bring PSEi near 7,000

The US Federal Reserve signaling a potential interest rate cut in September encouraged investors to buy up shares, sending the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) near the 7,000 mark.

The benchmark PSEi climbed by 0.16 percent, or 11.45 points, to settle at 6,973.41 while the broader All-Shares index rose by 0.31 percent, or 11.55 points, to close at 3,761.28.

“Investors cheered the Fed’s dovish signals as monetary policy easing by the Fed would give more room for the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) to ease their policy too,” Philstocks Financial Inc. senior research analyst Japhet Louis Tantiangco said.

Earlier this month, the Monetary Board reduced the BSP’s key interest rate by 25 basis points to 6.25 percent. This was the first policy rate reduction in almost four years.

All sub sectors were in the red except for property and mining and oil indices, which gained 2.72 percent and 0.13 percent, respectively.

Over 831.25 million shares valued at P6.8 billion were traded. Advancers led decliners, 110 to 94, while 51 issues were unchanged.

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The shares of International Container Terminal Services Inc. were the most actively traded, dropping by 2.11 percent to P408.40 each.

This was followed by BDO Unibank Inc., down 1.82 percent to P151.20; SM Investments Corp., up 0.21 percent to P937; Ayala Land Inc., up 2.29 percent to P33.50; DigiPlus Interactive Corp., up 12.65 percent to P23.60; and Bank of the Philippine Islands, up 2.08 percent to P127.40.

Other active names were SM Prime Holdings, up 4.38 percent to P31; Universal Robina Corp., down 2.65 percent to P93.70; Ayala Corp., down 1.18 percent to P626; and Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., down 0.4 percent to P74.50.