Index rallies as economy reopens

MANILA, Philippines — The stock market rallied yesterday as the country reopened and shifted to general community quarantine after two and a half months of lockdown. 

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi), the market gauge, gained by 91.33 points or 1.56 percent to finish at 5,930.17.

Likewise, the broader All Shares index rose by 52.52 points, or 1.52 percent, to end at 3,510.22

The other indexes rallied as well except for the services sector.

Total value turnover reached P6.978 billion. Market breadth was positive 127 gainers and 63 losers, while 37 issues were left unchanged.

The market recorded more foreign inflows yesterday with P268.5 million worth of net-buying. 

“The PSEi started the day with minor losses as some investors took profits from last Friday’s rally. The selling pressure was extremely light as most investors were optimistic with the lifting of restrictive quarantine measures. The sentiment also improved as the rest of Asia moved higher in today’s session. Trading volumes also picked up which is a good sign,” said Chris Mangun of AAA Securities.

He said foreign investors are starting to come back to the market.

Likewise, Asian equities markets rallied, with some hitting three-month highs as China’s factory activity for the month of May showed growth exceeding most analysts’ projections.