PSEi extends gains on Wall Street cues

MANILA, Philippines — The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) advanced for a third straight session, taking cues from Wall Street’s recent gains.

The PSEi finished the week in the positive territory at 6,098.21 after adding 0.14 percent or 8.3 points.

The broader All Shares index, however, declined by 0.19 percent or 6.63 points, settling at 3,408.53.

RCBC chief economist Michael Ricafort said the PSEi continued its rise “after US stock markets mostly gained for the seventh straight trading day to new 1.5-month highs, ahead of the US-Iran talks in Islamabad, Pakistan this coming weekend.”

Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital, for his part, said the market closed relatively flat as investor confidence remained fragile amid lingering uncertainty over the US-Iran ceasefire.

“Participants staying on short positions while monitoring geopolitical developments and inflation risks. Meanwhile, the peso’s depreciation further dampened sentiment, keeping overall market activity cautious,” Limlingan said.

Sectoral gauges were a mixed bag, with those in the red having the slight advantage.

Property posted the biggest drop at 1.41 percent, while services registered the largest increase at 1.97 percent.

Total value turnover thinned to P6.91 billion from Wednesday’s P8.33 billion.

Decliners edged out advancers in a tight contest, 102 to 100, while 66 issues were unchanged.

ICTSI’s was the session’s top traded, climbing by three percent to P720 per share, followed by Ayala Land and BDO Unibank, which slipped by 1.74 percent and 0.24 percent, respectively, to P18.08 and P122.80.