PH shares march past 6,200 on Fed cut hopes
The local stock barometer advanced past the 6,200 mark on Wednesday as investors anticipated a possible interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve.
Rising for the second straight session, the main-share Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) gained 61.92 points or 1.01 percent to close at 6.210.66.
“Market looks already positioning ahead of the Fed’s decision, with sentiment also shaped by Finance Secretary Recto’s recent remarks suggesting the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) may cut rates if the Fed does,” said Luis Gerardo Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development.
“With inflation still within the target range, a Fed cut could be a key trigger for the BSP to ease further later this year,” he added.
At the local market, all counters ended higher, led by the services counter which climbed 1.9 percent.
The financial and mining/oil counters rose by more than 1 percent, while the industrial, holding firm and property counters all added less than 1 percent.
Value turnover amounted to P10 billion. Excluding special block sales, market turnover stood at P6.53 billion.
Market breadth was positive, as 104 advancers edged out 83 decliners, while 59 stocks were unchanged.
The day’s most actively traded PSEi company was ICTSI, which jumped by 3.26 percent.
Puregold and BPI both gained over 2 percent, while SM Prime added 1.91 percent.
SM Investments, BDO Unibank and Metrobank all firmed up by less than 1 percent.
On the other hand, online gaming firm DigiPlus Interactive shed 4.1 percent, following the previous day’s 25-percent surge.
Property giant Ayala Land fell by 2.29 percent.
