Index breaches 7,000 level on upbeat trades

MANILA, Philippines — Local stocks returned to the 7,000 territory yesterday, joining the upbeat mood in other Asian bourses, as investors decided to hunt for bargains.

Asian markets advanced, echoing a rally on Wall Street, as hopes grew for a gradual global economic recovery from the damage of the coronavirus pandemic.

Venkateswaran Lavanya of Mizuho Bank in Singapore said Asian markets are getting a lift from positive employment data from the US, which has set off a mood of “confidence about the US economy getting back on its feet.”

What appears in global data as the gradual decline in COVID-19 cases is also nurturing hopes for a rebound. So are rollouts of COVID-19 vaccines, Lavanya said.

Traders said investors have factored in the higher-than-expected inflation, which reached a two-year high in January, as monetary authorities seem undaunted by what they call a transitory development.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index  or PSEi closed at 7,019.18, up 115.43 points or 1.67 percent. Likewise, the broader All Shares index rose 51.47 points or 1.23 percent to end at 4,216.80.

Total value turnover reached P9.21 B. Market breadth was positive, 123 to 76, while 56 issues were unchanged.

Analysts said the inflation uptick was largely brought about by higher food prices on continued effects of storm damage by the series of typhoons and floods especially in some food-producing provinces from November 2020 to January 2021; the African swine fever which reduced local pork supplies, as well as higher transport prices.