Market remains upbeat as PSEi retests 7,300

Share prices stayed in positive territory yesterday as a rebound in oil prices propped up regional markets, analysts said.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 15.13 points to settle at 7,306.56, while the broader All Shares index gained 9.29 points to close at 4,302.81.

Most of the counters closed in the green, led by the financial counter with a 1.09 percent gain.

Value turnover reached P6.84 billion. Advancers slightly outnumbered decliners, 98 to 92 while 56 stocks were left unchanged.

Justino Calaycay of A& A Securities Inc. said that while the PSEI tipped the 7,300-line it lacked conviction to make a substantial break.

“A late surge allowed the measure to close at 7,306.56, its first above the line in 10 days. Breadth narrowed to just six while value flows picked up to above the P6.2 billion mark – in line with the averages,” Calaycay said.

Elsewhere in the region, markets closed mostly higher with only the Shenzhen A and B shares and Taiwan in the red.

“Among our peers in the narrower Southeast Asia, stocks in Kuala Lumpur remain thinly in the red,” he said.

In the US, stocks were little changed with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 20.55 points and the S&P500 edging lower by 5.61 points.