MANILA, Philippines — The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained yesterday by 74.74 points, or 0.95 percent, to finish at 7,873.02, buoyed by some index heavy weights.
Likewise, the broader All Shares index gained 32.39 points, or 0.67 percent, to settle at 4,845.42.
Most of the sectoral indices rallied as well except for the services gauge.
But total value turnover remained thin, a reflection that market investors are still generally on a wait and see stance waiting for major developments including the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas‘ upcoming policy rate meeting, the first for the newly appointed BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno.
There were 94 gainers and 93 decliners, while 54 issuers were left unchanged.
The index was boosted by SM Prime Holdings, which gained eight percent; Ayala Corp., which was up one percent; Ayala Land Inc., which gained 0.8 percent among others.
“Lethargic trading is witnessed in today’s session with thin volume and value registering P1.70 billion and P5.31 billion, respectively,” said Philstocks Financials.
However, investors were able to digest some corporate earnings results and also keenly awaiting the BSP’s upcoming policy meeting.