MANILA, Philippines — The stock barometer capped off 2017 in the positive territory, finishing at a new all-time high and setting a new intra-day peak after flirting with the 8,600 level on Friday.
The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index rose 0.27 percent or 23.33 points to 8,558.42 — beating Thursday's record of 8,535.09. To recall, the PSEi ended 2015 and 2016 in negative territory.
The PSEi opened above the 8,500 resistance level before hitting a new intra-day high of 8,640.04.
“Philippine shares closed at another record to end the year even though US Stock Trading has been muted as investors have little incentive to make decisive bets on assets perceived as risky in the penultimate session of trade ahead of the New Year’s holiday on Monday,” Regina Capital Development Corp.’s Luis Limlingan said in a text message.
“However, Thursday’s late burst in the US suggests that investors aren’t ready to dump stocks going into next year,” he added.
Of the sectoral counters, industrial and mining/oil counters ended in red, while the financials counter — which surged by 1.24 percent or 27.42 points to 2,230.17 — helped lift the local bourse.
Holding firms and services counters both gained 0.12 percent while property counter went up by 0.06 percent.
Advancers trumped decliners at 115 to 94, while 45 issues closed flat. Value turnover stood at P7.2 billion.
BDO Unibank Inc. led the PSEi higher, climbing by 3.67 percent. Meanwhile, Universal Robina Corp. slipped by 2.58 percent.