PH shares hit 5-mo high day after mysterious glitch

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) rebounded over 100 points on Thursday as domestic and foreign investors bought up blue chip stocks a day after a glitch halted trading for a few hours. By the closing bell, the PSEi rose 1.59 percent, or 103.64 points, to 6,602.52 while the broader All Shares index added 1.03 percent, or 35.52 points, to 3,485.76.

Stock exchange data showed 461.6 million shares valued at P5.2 billion changing hands while net foreign buying hit P768.3 million.

The PSE said trading halted for over two hours on Wednesday due to an unexplained “technical issue.”

Juan Paolo Colet, managing director at investment bank China Bank Capital Corp., said the PSEi’s close on Thursday was its highest in over five months, with activity led by investors placing bets ahead of the December inflation report on Friday.

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“The PSEi bucked the fall of most Asian markets as traders bought up local stocks on expectations that domestic headline inflation last month cooled to 4 percent, which is within the [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’] target inflation range,” he said.

Mining and oil (-0.79 percent) was the sole loser on Thursday while gainers were led by property (+2.77 percent) and financials (+1.78 percent). Services rose 1.59 percent, followed by holding firms, up 1.14 percent, and industrial, up 0.36 percent. Top traded stocks were Bank of the Philippine Islands, SM Investments Corp., Ayala Land Inc. and SM Prime Holdings Inc. —Miguel R. Camus INQ