Share prices ended higher Wednesday on bargain hunting and positioning ahead of today’s meeting of the Monetary Board.
Market observers expect a rate hike.
The peso closed down.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was up 132.94 points to 6,727.60, a 2.02 percent.
The broader all shares index was up 56.41 points to 3,590.06, a 1.6 percent hike.
Gainers edged losers 134 to 60 with 45 stocks unchanged. Trading turnover reached P7.75 billion.
The peso closed at 52.45 to the dollar, down from 52.425.
The currency opened at 52.35, an intraday high and hit a low of 51.465. Trading turnover reached $805.9 million.
The greenback eased for a third straight day, pulling back from a two-decade high against a basket of major peers as an uptick in risk appetite cut the dollar’s appeal. But the greenback still remained near recent highs, Reuters reported.
Luis Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital and Development Corp., investors bought the market up ahead of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ meeting “as investors digested the retail numbers that came in line with consensus expectations.”
“Thursday, a 25bps (basis points) rate hike is expected to take place at the upcoming third policy-setting meeting by the Monetary Board. Ahead of the meeting, (BSP Governor Benjamin) Diokno was quoted as saying, the BSP stands ready to adjust our monetary policy settings, should we see material risk of these supply-side pressures spilling over to the demand side,” Limlingan said.
Most actively traded SM Investments Corp. was up P38 to P870. SM Prime Holdings Inc. was down P0.10 to P36.70. International Container Terminal Services Inc. was up P14.80 to P217.80. Converge ICT Solutions Inc. was up P0.15 to P28. Ayala Land Inc. was down P0.65 to P28.80. Bank of the Philippine Islands was up P4.20 to P97. PLDT Inc. was up P6 to P1,971. BDO Unibank Inc. was up P0.50 to P127. Monde Nissin Corp. was up P0.34 to P14.94. Ayala Corp. was up P3 to P678.
