Share prices ended higher Monday on bargain hunting. The peso dropped back to 59.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was up 65.58 points, a 1.11 percent hike, to 5,970.33.
The broader all shares index was up 20.89 points or 0.66 percent to 3,198.63.
Gainers edged losers 87 to 76 with 49 stocks unchanged. Trading turnover reached P6.64 billion.
The peso closed at 59 to the dollar, down from 58.935.
The currency opened at 58.97 to the dollar and hit a high of 58.92 and a low of 59. Trading turnover reached $524.9 million.
Most emerging Asian currencies fell on Monday, after last week’s red-hot US inflation print reinforced fears of a global recession on assumptions of a persistent aggressive stance by the Federal Reserve, Reuters reported.
With the Fed expected to stay on its aggressive rate hike path, markets are now fully expecting the US central bank to hike rates by 75 basis points (bps) next month, and likely by the same quantum again in December.
Claire Alviar, analyst at Philstocks Financial Inc., said the market bucked the trend of the US markets’s Friday drop.
“Heavyweights, especially SM Investments Corp. and SM Prime Holdings Corp. helped lift the bourse into the green territory,” she said.
“Investors extended bargain hunting but market participation remains weak,” Alviar added.
Most actively traded SM Prime Holdings Inc. was up P1.20 to P33. Semirara Mining and Power Corp. was up P1 to P41.50. Ayala Land Inc. was up P0.45 to P23.95. BDO Unibank Inc. was down P2 to P118. Universal Robina Corp. was up P0.10 to P112. SM Investments Corp. was up P37 to P799. DMCI Holdings Inc. was up P0.44 to P10.60. Converge ICT Solutions Inc. was up P0.30 to P12.80. PLDT Inc. was up P20 to P1,450. Bank of the Philippine Islands was down P1 to P9.50. — Ruelle Castro
