PSEi breaches 8,000 to close at 1-yr high

STOCKS rebounded on Wednesday and pushed the benchmark index past resistance at 8,000 points to finish at its highest level in nearly a year, driven by window-dressing as the market tracked Wall Street’s rise overnight.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index ( PSEi) closed up 0.83 percent or 65.79 points higher at 8,037.51.

“Today’s closing level is the highest for the index since Au- gust 10, 2016 when it closed at 8,051.40 points,” the PSE said.

The wider All Shares gained 0.56 percent or 26.47 points to close at 4,779.80.

“Philippines shares drew sentiment from the US markets, where earnings powered Wall Street higher overnight,” Regina Capital Development Corp. said in a note.

IB Gimenez Securities Inc. research head Joylin Telagen sees local investors gaining op- timism as the global markets rose following a positive growth outlook for the global economy from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The IMF has pegged global gross domestic product growth at 3.5 percent for this year and 3.6 percent for 2018.

Nearly all indices posted gains. Property surged 1.68 percent, Mining and Oil rose 1.02 percent, Holding Firms climbed 0.77 percent, Services grew 0.50 per- percent. The Industrial sector was the sole sector in the red, losing 0.32 percent.

Andrew Tan’s Megaworld Corp. was the biggest gainer, with 5.51 percent, while SM Investments

More than 1 billion issues were traded, valued at P8 billion.

Advancers led decliners narrowly at 98 to 94, while 60 issues