Share prices ended up Thursday on bargain-hunting after Wednesday’s huge retreat.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index was up 100.68 points to 7,233.26, a 1.41 percent hike.
The broader all shares index was up 53.52 points to 3,836.11, a 1.41 percent hike.
Gainers edged losers 109 to 65 with 54 stocks unchanged. Trading turnover reached P87.52 billion.
The peso closed at 49.96 to the dollar, up from 50.27 on Wednesday.
The currency opened at 50.20 and hit a high of 49.96 and a low of 50.22. Trading turnover reached $826.63 million.
Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. said the sizable uptick was recorded as the seasonal surge in overseas Filipino workers’ (OFWs) remittances and conversion to pesos kick in, “especially one to two weeks before the Christmas holiday spending rush.”
“It may largely have to do with the widely expected deluge of OFW remittances for Christmas/New Year spending spree by consumers/OFW families, as well as to finance Yuletide payrolls and other expenditures businesses/exporters and other institutions with US dollar/foreign currency revenues/income sources,” Ricafort said.
Elsewhere in Asia, currencies were pinned down by a stronger dollar after the Federal Reserve signaled a faster bond tapering, with the Indonesian rupiah trading flat ahead of its central bank meeting, Reuters reported.
Luis Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital and Development Corp., said the market advanced “as investors made bets that the first reported Omicron cases would be contained.”
Most actively traded SM Prime Holdings Inc. was up P0.75 to P35. PLDT Inc. was up P88 to P1,810. Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. was up P2.50 to P52.60. Monde Nissin Corp. was up P0.40 to P16. Globe Telecom Inc. was up P294 to P3600. Ayala Land Inc. was down P0.55 to P35.30. Jollibee Foods Corp. was steady at P223. Manila Electric Co. was up P6.60 to P305. SM Investments Corp. was up P29 to P979. Converge ICT Holdings Inc. was up P0.15 to P30.90.
