PH stocks up for third straight day

The local bourse extended its gains for the third straight day and ended above the 6,600 territory on Wednesday.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed 0.94 percent or 61.60 points to another intraday high of 6,651.71, while the broader All Shares gained 1.05 percent or 41.94 points to end at 4,044.94.

AAA Equities head of research Christopher Mangun said there was light selling pressure despite the lingering coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic concerns.

“Despite the uncertainty, no one wants to see prices go lower as most believe that most issues are fairly priced,” Mangun said.

He added that the March inflation rate also boosted sentiment as it has given investors “some hope that prices of commodities have started to stabilize.”

The Philippine Statistics Authority on Tuesday reported that the country’s inflation eased to 4.5 percent last month from 4.7 percent in February.

“The PSEi is currently up 3.2 percent for the week and although we may see some profit taking on the last trading day, it may still end with some gains for the week,” Mangun noted.

Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis Limlingan also said bargain hunting continued as investors assessed the impact of the moderating inflation and amid the lower print of daily Covid-19 cases locally.

Most local sectors survived led by property at 2.52 percent, while the mining and oil index was the sole loser at 0.62 percent.

Total volume turnover was at 3.41 billion shares valued at P6.05 billion.

Advancers edged out decliners, 147 to 57, while 46 securities were unchanged.