Stock rise on FTSE, trade talks

The local market was boosted by the inclusion of some firms in the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) index as well as optimism over US-China trade talks. The Philippine Stock Exchange index ended 62.44 points or 0.79 percent higher at 7,971.33 after surging over 100 points during the day although sectoral indices were evenly mixed with the Financials, Holding Firms and Services counters advancing. San Miguel and JG Summi led gains among index members, thanks to the announcement that FTSE has added them to their large-cap index. “With the PSEi rebalancing out of the way, investors saw great bargain opportunities across the index, with foreign investors netbuying more than 1500 million,” said AAA Equities President Luis Limlingan. Regina Capital Development Corporation Managing Director Luis Limlingan also noted that, “trade optimism and a relatively quiet session ahead of the President’s Day Holiday boosted the market in the Philippines.” (JAL)