Stocks advance further as sentiment improves

MANILA, Philippines — The stock market rallied yesterday on optimism that the economy will continue to get a boost from the government’s stimulus programs.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) ended at 5,946.05, up 165.17 points or 2.85 percent while the broader All Shares index rose 82.78 points or 2.38 percent.

Most indexes were up as well led by the financials, mining and oil and property sectors.

Total value turnover reached P9.1 billion. Market breadth was positive with 135 gainers and 66 losers while 40 issues were left unchanged.

“Optimism on the country’s economic stimulus programs amid the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 continue to fuel the local market’s rally,“ said Philstocks Financials.

Chris Mangun of AAA Securities said: “Global equities saw mixed results today as first quarter earnings started to come in. Markets in the US rose sharply while European and most Asian markets ended with some losses. The sentiment was dampened by recent comments from the International Monetary Fund. The IMF said in its latest World Economic Outlook report that the world GDP is set to contract by three percent this year due to the lockdowns imposed by countries across the globe.”

Yesterday’s rally marks the third day of consecutive gains for the PSEi.

“The PSEi moved in the same manner that it did yesterday. We saw heavy buying all day across the board which then allowed it to close at its high. The general sentiment continues to improve as more and more stocks rally sharply. There is some concern however that we may see a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases as the government begins mass testing. The main index is currently up more than eight percent, we may see it retreat towards the end of the week as investors secure profits,” Mangun said.