Index rises as Omicron fears subside

MANILA, Philippines — Stocks in the Philippines and most Asian bourses edged higher yesterday, cruising in the slipstream of another record-setting day on Wall Street, as traders shrugged off the worst fears of the impact of the Omicron variant and returned to risk assets.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) closed at 7,286.50, up 31.70 points or 0.44 percent, while the broader All Shares index rose 14.95 points or 0.39 percent to finish at 3,857.91.

Total value turnover improved to P5.093 billion as market breadth was overwhelmingly positive, 115 to 75, with 52 issues unchanged.

“The risk-on sentiment continues,” said Edison Pun, senior market analyst at Saxo Markets in Hong Kong, who said neither Omicron nor China’s coronavirus situation was troubling investors.

China reported 209 new confirmed coronavirus cases for Dec. 27, up from 200 a day earlier, mostly in the northwestern province of Shaanxi, where Xian, the provincial capital, is in lockdown.

Elsewhere, authorities in Britain and France have held off from imposing tough restrictions on movement, betting that high vaccination rates will stop hospitals from being overwhelmed even as cases surge.

At the PSE, the day belonged to newly listed Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corp., which was the most active stock during yesterday’s trading.

It finished at P1.31 per share, down 5.07 percent on correction after sizzling for several days since its stock market debut last Dec. 17.

SPNEC, part of Leandro Leviste’s Solar Philippines, seeks to build what is touted as Southeast Asia’s largest solar project.

Completing the list of active stocks yesterday are SM Prime Holdings Inc. which rose 0.29 percent to P34.60 per share; Metrobank, which was flat at P55 per share; International Container Terminal Services Inc., which rallied 3.03 percent to P204; and MREIT Inc. which gained 0.87 percent to finish at P18.48 per share.