RRR CUT LIFTS PSEI TO 5,000 LEVEL
THE stock market broke through the 5,000 territory on Wednesday as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) announcement of a considerable reduction in banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR) continues to buoy investors.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index ( PSEi) soared by 5.31 percent or 253.49 points to close at 5,027.76, while the wider All Shares jumped by 3.98 percent or 117.18 points to end at 3,065.13.
In a market comment, Philstocks Financial Inc. credited the surge to the central bank’s move on Tuesday to cut the RRR by 200 basis points (bps) and to “positive
cues from Wall Street.”
The Bangko Sentral said it decided to slash the ratio to calm financial markets and encourage banks to continue lending to the retail and corporate sectors amid the economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 ( Covid- 19) pandemic and the lockdowns it caused.
Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales, echoed Philstocks’ view, adding that local shares also soared as “investors bet US lawmakers
would deliver soon a stimulus bill to rescue the [American] economy from the damage caused by the coronavirus and shutdowns designed to stop its spread.”
First emerging in the city of Wuhan in China’s central Hubei province in December, Covid-19 has spread to nearly 60 countries, infecting at least 372,757 people worldwide, according to the latest World Health Organization report. Of these, 16,231 succumbed to the disease.
In the Philippines, the number of confirmed cases increased to 636 on Wednesday. At least 35 died and 26 have recovered.
Wall Street rallied, with the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq rising by 11.36 percent, 9.38 percent and