PSEi rallies for 3rd consecutive day

MANILA, Philippines — The stock market rallied for the third straight day yesterday as investor sentiment continued to improve, traders said.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) finished at a week-high 6,581.00, up 83.99 points or 1.29 percent while the broader All Shares index gained 41.90 points or 1.06 percent to end at 3,976.83.

Total value turnover reached P6.104 billion.  Market breadth was positive, 136 to 62, while 50 issues were unchanged.

“Local market has been rallying since the status of vaccine rollout and deliveries was presented. For Q2, more than 25 million vaccine doses are expected to be delivered in the country. In addition, the number of daily cases were lower the past two days,” AB Capital Securities said in a market commentary.

Chris Mangun of AAA Equities said the PSEi rally was fueled by gains in large-cap holding firms.

“The decline in new COVID-19 cases reported as well as progress on the rollout of vaccines may have improved the sentiment,” he said.

“We may see a pullback as it approaches stronger resistance levels. The main index is currently up 2.3 percent for the week and with one trading day to go, we may see it end with some gains,” he added.

Investors also picked up bargains ahead of a monetary policy meeting as they expected the country’s central bank to stick to a dovish tone.

“BSP is set to continue to cite the need for accommodative monetary policy conditions as the economy grapples with a renewed wave of COVID-19 infections and a slow start to its vaccination drive,” Mizuho Bank analysts wrote in a note.