PSEi surges to 25th record high this year

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed for the fourth straight session yesterday, closing at its 25th all-time high this year on the back of robust foreign buying and gains in markets abroad.

The PSEi jumped 0.87 percent or 59.69 points to end at 6,891.43, eclipsing the previous record of 6,847.47 when the Philippines secured an investment grade score from Fitch Ratings on March 27.

“It’s being driven by flows. I think you should look at who’s been buying the market and I think it’s still foreigners,” said Conrado F. Bate, president and CEO of online brokerage firm COL Financial Group Inc.

“I think the foreigners are very aggressive in this market. They are increasing their weighting in Asia and the ASEAN,” Bate said.

“The local barometer breached the 6,850 resistance mark as most participants opted to reposition prior to hitting the previous peak of 6,950,” Freya Natividad, investment analyst at brokerage firm 2Trade-Asia.com.

Investors were encouraged by positive news abroad like lower unemployment claims in the US and monetary easing in Japan, triggering views that advanced economies are recovering.

Natividad said the continued support for further monetary easing within the region favored holding and financial firms.

On Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.4 percent or 62.90 points to end at a new record at 14,865.14 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index inched up 0.4 percent or 5.64 points to 1,593.37.

Locally, almost all counters were in the green, led by the service sector that picked up 1.23 percent or 24.51 points to 2,011.03.

But industrial companies bucked the trend, slipping 0.12 percent or 12.68 points to 10,434.86.

Turnover value dropped to P7.59 billion from P8.07 billion on Thursday. Gainers outpaced decliners anew, 99 to 54, while 48 stocks did not change.

Most active stocks were also in the positive territory, paced by top traded SM Investments Corp. (up 1.43 percent) and Ayala Corp. (up 0.84 percent).

Meanwhile, Asian shares retreated yesterday after recent gains, with investor confidence underpinned by Wall Street’s record-high close overnight, while the yen hovered near four-year lows against the dollar.

The MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.3 percent, led by a 1.1-percent drop in South Korean shares and a 0.2 percent fall in Shanghai shares.