PSEi up on anti-Covid efforts

THE stock market rallied for a second straight day on Thursday, lifted by the government’s continued efforts to support the country’s economy as it reels from the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) soared by 7.44 percent or 373.82 points to end at 5,401.58 — also its intraday high — while the wider All Shares jumped by 6.06 percent or 185.69 points to close at 3,250.82.

In a market comment, Philstocks Financial Inc. said shares rose “as the government continues to seek ways to support the economy amid the pressing times, [as it] now eyeing [a] $2-billion loan.”

Philstocks Research Associate

Piper Chaucer Tan agreed, saying the planned move could “add to the positive sentiment.” Investors are looking into “government intervention to stimulate the economy,” he added.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd told reporters on Wednesday that the government was willing to tap all sources to fund its programs aimed at mitigating Covid-19’s negative impact, and said it was looking to borrow as much as $2 billion from multilateral lenders, including the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

Tan also cited the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) announcement on Tuesday that it would trim banks’ reserve requirement ratio effective on March 30 and the “quantitative easing to boost liquidity” as factors in the main index’s surge.

“As you can see, it’s not just the BSP, but central banks around the world are aggressively boosting liquidity,” he said.