Stocks close in on all-time high

Share prices continued to climb yesterday, with the benchmark composite index nearing the all-time high of 8,127.48 points recorded on April 10,2015.

Bucking bearish regional markets, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 25.69 points, or 0.31 percent, to finish at 8,071.47, the highest close since August 10, 2016 when the index settled at 8,051.40. It was also near the all-time high of 8,127.48 recorded on April 10, 2015.

Catherine Anne Cerdenia, business development associate at F. Yap Securities, said investors are more confident now after the index breached the 8,000 mark. “Investors are more optimistic now,” Cerdenia said.

She said there are reasons behind the market’s optimism including expectations the government’s tax reform package would hurdle Senate deliberations.

Cerdena also said the index may hit the 9,000 level this year if the government’s infrastructure program accelerates further. “It is really important for the market to see results,” Cerdenia said.

The Duterte administration has vowed to usher in the so-called golden age of infrastructure in the

country, promising to increase infrastructure spending to seven percent of gross domestic product from five percent at present.

During yesterday’s session, volume turnover reached 1.11 billion shares valued at P6.42 billion. Foreign buying stood at P3.14 billion, eclipsing foreign selling at P2.50 billion.

Advancing stocks outpaced decliners, 119 to 88 while 42 issues were left unchanged.

Most sectors ended in positive territory except for the industrial and mining and oil indexes. The financials index was the biggest gainer, rising 0.67 percent.

Experts said if all goes well in the economy, the index would continue to soar even higher.

Commenting on the prevailing market behavior, Peter Lundgreen, CEO of Lundgreen Capital, said he is upbeat on the economy.

“It is uncertain whether the Philippines becomes the world champion in GDP growth this year, but I am convinced it will happen in 2018. The government will work hard to achieve the gold medal through major infrastructure investments combined with significant tax reforms,” he said.

He said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas should raise interest rates twice to counter potential overheating of the economy.

Meanwhile, Asian and European shares slid yesterday as investors assessed corporate earnings reports, with a selloff in Wall Street tech stocks pressuring sentiment.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index sank 0.6 percent to close at 19,959.84 and South Korea’s Kospi slumped 1.7 percent to 2,400.99. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.6 percent to 26,979.39 while the Shanghai Composite index in mainland China edged 0.1 percent higher to 3,253.24.

European shares sagged in early trading. France’s CAC 40 lost 1.3 percent to 5,117.88 and Germany’s DAX shed 0.6 percent to 12,136.35. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.6 percent to 7,404.42.