Stocks extend rally on Wall St’s leads

Manila, Philippines —The Philippine Stock Exchange index rallied yesterday, rising by 153.66 points, or 2.09 percent, to finish at 7,506.51.

Likewise, the broader All Shares index rose by 68.47 points, or 1.57 percent, to end at 4,422.72.

“Wall Street’s cues and robust lending growth sent the local market higher ahead of the Bangko Sentral ng Plipinas’s policy decision,” Philstocks Financials said.

Foreign buying buoyed the market at P4.4 billion, while foreign selling reached P3 billion for a net foreign selling of P1.4 billion.

The BSP cut policy rates by 25 basis points, giving the economy an extra boost as inflation picks up.

The BSP slashed key interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.75 percent, while the overnight deposit and lending rates are down to 3.25 percent and 4.25 percent, respectively.

Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said Philippine shares rose after reports suggest that a vaccine against the coronavirus is nearing.

There are already three confirmed cases of the virus in the country.

Meanwhile,  stock markets across the world gained on Thursday, helped by record highs on Wall Street and a move by China to halve tariffs on some US goods as investors bet that the global economy would avoid long-term damage from the coronavirus.