Stocks soars to fresh 2-yr high on Fed cut

MANILA, Philippines — Share prices resumed their climb, with the benchmark index hitting a new high in over two years following the lowering of US interest rates.

After taking a breather due to profit taking on Wednesday, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rebounded and breached the 7,200 level yesterday.

The PSEi rose by 0.65 percent or 46.26 points during the session, settling at 7,202.16.

This was the PSEi’s highest close since ending at 7,203.47 on March 31, 2022.

The broader All Shares index likewise finished 0.62 percent or 23.72-point higher at 3,871.68.

“Philippine shares closed above the 7,200 mark on Thursday, buoyed by the Fed’s first rate cut in four years, lowering interest rates by 50 basis points to a range of 4.75 percent to five percent,” Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said.

Net value turnover was robust at P7.86 billion, higher than the previous day’s P5.65 billion.

Foreigners were net buyers with net inflows amounting to P5.05 billion.

All sectors were up, except for the industrial index which slipped by 0.12 percent.

Leading those in the green was the mining and oil index which surged by 2.43 percent, followed by financials which soared by 1.95 percent.

Market breadth was positive as advancers battered decliners, 113 to 78, while 62 issues were unchanged.

Among the most actively traded stocks during the session were ICTSI (down 0.30 percent), Ayala Corp. (up 1.12 percent), BDO (up 2.04 percent), SM Investments (down 0.10 percent) and SM Prime (up 1.85 percent).