MANILA: ECONOMY – PSEi breaches 9,000, hits new all-time high

THE stock market finally cracked the 9,000 level on Friday as investors loaded up on equities ahead of month-end window-dressing.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index added 42.03 points or 0.47 percent to close at 9,041.20, its 7th all-time high for the year following Thursday’s peak of 8,999.17.

The wider All Shares, meanwhile, grew 0.33 percent or 17.05 points to finish at 5,262.30.

“In a see-saw trading session, the Philippine market ended Friday’s session in the green ahead of window-dressing next week,” a Regina Capital Development Corp. analyst said.

“Sentiment was carried over from last night’s regional performances as well,” he added.

Asian markets were mixed on Friday, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index up 1.5 percent and the Shanghai Composite gaining 0.3 percent. The Nikkei, on the other hand, fell by 0.2 percent.

Eagle Equities, Inc. research head Chris Mangun said the market had traded “within our expectations.”

He forecast a rise to past 9,100 if net foreign buying increases, with the reverse resulting in a drop back down to the 8,900 level.

The financials and mining/oil indices slipped for the day, falling by 0.44 percent and 0.76 percent, respectively.
More than 1.02 billion issues valued P7.8 billion changed hands,

Winners outnumbered losers, 110 to 97, while 52 issues were unchanged.

The market ended the week up 1.41 percent and was up 5.64 percent since the start of the year.