MANILA – The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose on Monday, still on bargain hunting, while the peso finished the day sideways against the US dollar.
The local equities index increased by 1.25 percent, or 90.79 points, to 7,361.15 points.
All Shares followed with a 0.54 percent, or 20.81 points, jump to 3,892.94 points.
Majority of the sectoral indices also posted gains namely Holding Firms, 1.89 percent; Financials, 1.53 percent; Property, 0.88 percent; and Services, 0.68 percent.
On the other hand, Industrial declined by 0.33 percent and Mining and Oil by 0.25 percent.
Volume reached 1.19 billion shares amounting to PHP14.19 billion.
Decliners surpassed advancers at 113 to 85, while 48 shares were unchanged.
“Philippine shares were bought up on bargain hunting and as investors stayed away from US equities sought safety in Treasuries as the country warned Russia that it could take offensive military action against Ukraine as early as next week,” said Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corporation (RCDC) head of sales.
Limlingan said the tension between Ukraine and Russia, a major energy producer, also resulted in an increase in oil prices in the international market.
He said Brent crude oil futures rose by 3.3 percent to USD94.44 per barrel while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increased by 3.6 percent to USD93.10 per barrel.
Meanwhile, the peso finished the trade sideways against the greenback at 51.37 from 51.34 last Friday.
It opened the week’s first trading day at 51.38, little changed from its 51.36 start in the previous session.
It traded between 51.405 and 51.32, resulting in an average of 51.375.
Volume totaled USD627 million, lower than the USD913.88 million at the end of last week. (PNA)
