PSEi recovers, but 6,700 ascent remains tricky

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) rebounded above 6,600 as the market awaited catalysts, such as the latest US inflation print.

The PSEi rose 1.03 percent, or 67.62 points, to 6,613.73 while the broader All Shares index climbed 0.75 percent, or 26.12 points, to 3,495.76.

Most large cap stocks traded in a narrow range throughout as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the US inflation report. Jonathan Ravelas, senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong & Co., also noted the market was “encountering some difficulty breaking above the 6,700 levels.”Removing block sales, trading activity on Thursday held steady as 346.83 million shares valued at P5.3 billion changed hands while foreign investors offloaded a net P648.31 million, data from the stock exchange showed.

PSE subsectors were mostly higher, with financials (+2.81 percent) taking the lead, followed by industrial (+1.23 percent), mining and oil (+0.78 percent), holding firms (+0.64 percent) and property (+0.31 percent). Services slipped 0.56 percent. BDO Unibank Inc. was the top traded stock on Thursday as it rose 3.48 percent to P139.80 per share.

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It was followed by Ayala Corp., up 1.35 percent to P674; Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., up 0.90 percent to P56; SM Prime Holdings Inc., up 1.06 percent to P33.50; and International Container Terminal Services Inc., down 1.08 percent to P238.40 per share. INQ