Fed euphoria keeps PSEi’s rise

Investors continued to cheer the US Federal Reserve’s move to ease its monetary policy, with the local bourse extending its gains on the last trading day of the week and again ending at a two-year high.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) on Friday added 0.7 percent, or 50.16 points, to close at 7,252.32.

Meanwhile, the broader All Shares Index gained 0.62 percent, or 23.94 points, to 3,895.62.

Trading was strong, with 1.09 billion shares worth P14.02 billion changing hands, stock exchange data showed. This is higher than the year-to-date average of P5.1 billion, according to Philstocks Financial Inc.

Japhet Tantiangco, Philstocks research manager, said the bourse’s performance was still due to the American central bank’s 50-basis-point interest rate cut.

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“By augmenting liquidity, the move is seen to give the local economy a boost,” Tantiangco said.

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Banks, which are poised to benefit the most from interest rate cuts due to lower borrowing cost, led the gainers as they surged by 2.25 percent.

Property firms were the only ones in the red as traders decided to lock in gains from the sector’s four-day rally, Tantiangco explained.

Ramon Ang-led San Miguel Corp. was the most actively traded stock, although it dipped by 5.58 percent to P88.80 each.

It was followed by BDO Unibank Inc., down 0.25 percent to P160; International Container Terminal Services Inc., up 0.15 percent to P403.40; and Ayala Corp., up 1.69 percent to P690.