Index rallies on rosy growth prospects

MANILA, Philippines - The stock market rallied yesterday on the back of rosy first quarter economic growth figures, analysts said.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rallied 104.84 points, or 1.42 percent, to finish at 7,446.49 while the broader All Shares index gained 1.06 percent, or 47.14 percent, to end at 4,460.56.

The rest of the counters likewise closed in positive territory. 

Total volume turnover reached P11.94 billion, buoyed by foreign buying. 

Net foreign buying was P4.08 billion as foreign buying reached P7.883 billion while foreign selling was at P3.807 billion.

Traders said players placed their bets on the market again on optimism that the country’s first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) likely expanded by about seven percent on the back of sustained robust domestic demand.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia expects the first quarter economic growth  to settle near to the mid-range target for 2017 which was 6.5 to 7.5 percent.

  Inflation, meanwhile, likely accelerated to 3.6 percent in March, faster than the 3.3 percent growth in February and 1.1 percent in the same period last year.