Index gains on hopes of economic recovery

MANILA, Philippines — Share prices started the week on a positive note, gaining nearly 30 points as investors turned hopeful the economy is on its way to recovery.

The PSEi closed at 5,997.14, up 29.18 points or 0.48 percent, while the broader All Shares index gained 13.30 points, or 0.37 percent, to finish at 3,590.68.

Most indexes were up with the property sector leading the pack.

However, value turnover was thin at P4.71 billion. Market breadth was positive with 110 gainers and 99 losers, while 37 issues were left unchanged.

In a commentary, Chris Mangun of AAA Equities said investors are placing their bets on the economy’s recovery.

“The PSEi ended higher yesterday, just a few points shy of the 6,000 psychological resistance level as investors continue to gain optimism that the economy’s recovery is picking up the pace.”

Market heavyweights SM Prime Holdings (up 1.76 percent), SM Investments Corp. (up 1.10 percent) and Ayala Land (up 2.96 percent) ended higher, while issues that continued higher despite the pandemic were Puregold (down 2.9 percent), PLDT (down 2.02 percent) and Universal Robina Corp. (down two percent) pulled back substantially.

“This tells us that investors are now more confident in other sectors of the economy,“ he said.

Moving forward, the market is expected to move higher throughout the week, he said.