Share prices ended up Thursday as bargain hunting again reversed an early-session decline while the local currency closed lower.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index was up 38.33 points to 6,718.51, a 0.57 percent hike.
The broader all shares index was up 23.22 points to 4,141.63, a 0.58 percent hike.
Losers edged gainers 95 to 88 with 46 stocks unchanged. Trading turnover reached P5.28 billion.
The peso closed at 50.55 to the dollar, down from 50.43. It opened at 50.48, hitting a high of 50.40 and a low of 50.62. Trading turnover reached $1.084 billion.
The South Korean won led losses among currencies, as the greenback hit multi-month highs against peers, Reuters reported.
The minutes from July’s policy meeting showed Fed officials discussed when to taper monthly bond purchases and flagged stimulus easing could start this year if the economy continued to improve.
“We see a possibility of Fed Chair Powell indicating ‘progress’ has been made towards the Fed’s goals but stop short of giving a strong signal of a September taper announcement when he speaks at the Jackson Hole Symposium next week,” Sophia Ng, analyst at MUFG Bank, wrote in a note.
“Announcing in September could also be too soon given uncertainties with regards to the Delta variant and its impact on the economy,” the note added.
SB Equities Inc. said the market “bucked a regional slump to advance for a fourth day on Thursday despite the government cutting their economic growth target for the year as the market remained optimistic that quarantine restrictions could be eased in the capital region past Friday’s current deadline.”
“Helped by the most foreign inflow in nineteen days, the PSEi recovered from an early sell-off following the drop on Wall Street to finish on its day high,” it said.
Most actively traded Emperador Inc. was up P1 to P17. Global Telecom inc. was down P32 to P2,120. AC Energy Corp. was down P0.20 to P8.56. Cirtek Holdings Philippines (Warrant) was up P0.23 to P1.82. Ayala Land Inc. was up P0.70 to P34.75. Converge Information and Communication Technology Solutions Inc. was up P0.75 to P27.95. SM Prime Holdings Inc. was down P0.20 to P34.70. Aboitiz Power Corp. was up P0.25 to P25.20. GT Capital Holdings Inc. was down P2 to P527. International Container Terminal Services Inc. was down P1.30 to P183.
