Index returns above 6,700 on strong buying

MANILA, Philippines - The buying momentum continued yesterday, pushing the bellwether index above the 6,700 territory.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose 1.08 percent or 71.46 points to 6,707.91, marking its second straight day in the positive territory. The broader all shares index improved 1.02 percent or 41.08 points to end at 4,051.12.

Eduardo Francisco, president of BDO Capital and Investments Corp., said the market continued its recovery following several days of downtrend.

“The PSEi tested the 6,700 resistance in Wednesday’s trades, consistent with our expectations as momentum from the previous day’s rebound off a four-session slide spilled over,” said Justino Calaycay Jr., analyst at Accord Capital Equities Corp.

Calaycay said Wall Street’s performance provided an additional boost to the local stock market.

On Tuesday, US stocks benefited from strong first quarter corporate results. The Dow Jones industrial average added 0.53 percent or 86.63 points to close at 16,535.37, while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index picked up 0.48 percent or 8.9 points to 1,878.33.

At home, all counters were again in the green, led by the property sector that jumped 1.67 percent or 42.97 points to end at 2,623.73.

Advancers outplayed decliners anew, 122 to 51, while 44 stocks did not change. The value of shares that changed hands surged to P10.31 billion from P6.46 billion on Tuesday.