Local stocks bounced back from its one-day slump to close near the 7,300 level on Wednesday on encouraging remittance data and the latest gains of companies under the Sy Group.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed by 1 percent or 71.97 points to end at its intraday high of 7,299.70 while the wider All Shares added 0.68 percent or 29.44 points to close at 4,350.45.
AAA Equities Head of Research Christopher Mangun attributed the bourse’s latest performance to investors cheering the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ release of positive remittance figures for October, which he said indicated a “return to normalcy” after the economic turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic this year.
Central bank data showed that personal remittances — personal transfers in cash or kind and capital transfers between households — hit a three-month high of $3.04 billion in October, a 5.4-percent and 2.5-percent increase from $2.88 billion in September and $2.96 billion in October 2019, respectively.
Cash remittances, which only count money coursed through banks, reached $2.74 billion in the 10th month, a 5.61-percent jump from $2.60 billion in September and up 2.5 percent from $2.67 billion a year ago.
Mangun also credited Sy-led blue chips as contributing to the main index’s rebound.
Shares of SM Investments Corp., property arm SM Prime Holdings Inc. and banking subsidiary BDO Unibank Inc. gained 2.38 percent, 1.7 percent and 0.79 percent, respectively, on Wednesday.
Diversified Securities Inc. trader Aniceto Pangan also credited the PSEi’s latest rally to the newest remittance figures, and noted that it was in line with most markets in the region.
Most local sectors closed in the green, with mining and oil advancing the most at 1.7 percent. Services dropped by 0.09 percent.
Total volume turnover was at 117.64 billion shares, valued at P9.31 billion.
Winners outpaced losers, 133 to 90, while 47 securities were unchanged.
WITH A REPORT FROM MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO