Index recovers as Turkey woes ease

MANILA, Philippines — The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) managed to inch up yesterday, curbed by lingering concerns over the Turkey contagion.

The PSEi, the local stock market index, gained 13.14 points, or 0.17 percent, to finish at 7,540.92.

The broader All Shares index likewise rose by 16.13 points, or 0.35 percent, to finish at 4,595.05.

The sectoral indices, on the other hand, were a mixed bag – the financials, industrial and holding firms rose while the mining and oil, services and property gauges closed in the red.

Total value turnover was thin at P5.121 billion. Market breadth was positive, 113 to 91 while 60 issues were left unchanged.

For the past several days, the market has been affected by the Turkey crisis although the traders said it’s only affecting sentiment and does not pose fundamental risk.

Indeed, Turkey remains an issue for many investors, traders said. The Turkey lira went on tailspin as the country descended into an economic crisis.

As such, traders said the investors are still assessing the movement of the index.

Luis Limlingan, managing director of Regina Capital, said investors gave some breathing space mid-week to reassess the movement of the index after the sudden change of the global macroeconomic environment.