Index climbs on OECD’s positive outlook on Phl

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index rose yesterday, buoyed largely by the positive outlook given to the economy by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 0.26 percent or 18.71 points to close at 7,217.34 while the all shares index climbed 0.21 percent or 8.90 points to 4,245.96.

“OECD’s optimism over the country triggered an attempt to move above 7,200,” said Jason Escartin, investment analyst at F. Yap Securities.

OECD’s 2015 edition of its Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia, China and India gave the Philippines the most favorable growth rate in Southeast Asia in the next five years.

Also triggering the local equities improvement was the Wall Street’s overnight rally, analysts said.

The S&P 500, the Nasdaq and the Dow all finished in the green, with the latter posting the biggest increase of 0.23 percent.

Local counters, meanwhile, were mixed at three apiece. Financials lead those in the green with a 0.96-percent gain while industrial and holding firms each lost 0.18 percent.

Market breadth still failed to end on a positive note as decliners continued its dominance over advancers, 90 to 86, with 37 stocks unchanged.

Value turnover further thinned to close the week at P6.65 billion.