Index rises as market cheers GDP data

MANILA, Philippines – The stock market closed higher yesterday on the back of better-than-expected fourth quarter economic figures.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 56.16 points, or 0.86 percent, to close at 6,563.38, while the broader All Shares index finished 3,751.35, up 28.95 points or 0.78 percent.

“The acceleration of growth from the first quarter to fourth quarter has been very encouraging, bringing the average full-year growth to 5.8 percent. Although this is lower than what we targeted for the year, this growth is respectable given the difficult external environment, the onset of El Niño, and the challenges in government spending in the first semester,” Arsenio Balisacan, Economic Planning Secretary and NEDA director-general said yesterday.

The government earlier estimated an economic growth of at least six percent.

Balisacan said the latest GDP figures gave the country a six-year average real GDP growth of 6.2 percent, the highest since the late ’70s.

EastWest Bank Trust Officer Angel Pacis said that even if the GDP failed to hit government’s target, the economy is still a standout on the back of higher consumption spending.

All other indexes closed in positive territory, with the holding firms and the industrial index among the biggest gainers.

Total value turnover reached P7.50 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners 122 and 61 while 31 stocks were left unchanged.