Index gains anew, takes cue from US markets

Local stocks mirrored the performance of most Asian bourses, taking the cue from bullish US markets, to advance for a second straight day.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index or PSEi rose 53.12 points or 0.77 percent to close at 6,867.88, while the broader All Shares index jumped 40.50 points or 0.98 percent to settle at 4,144.17.

“Philippine shares closed higher as Wall Street appeared to have shaken off concerns about a speculative retail trading mania that largely drove the market’s worst weekly selloff since October,” Regina Capital Development Corp. managing director Luis Limlingan said.

Market breadth stayed positive as advancers pummeled decliners, 157 to 68, while 43 stocks were unchanged.

Asian stocks followed Wall Street higher after President Joe Biden invited Republicans to a meeting to discuss economic aid, while silver eased off an eight-year high.

On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 index gained 1.6 percent, recovering some of losses earlier in the week amid frenzied trading of video game retailer GameStop and other stocks targeted by novice day traders.

“The sound of more stimulus, which tends to raise all boats, was music to the market’s ears,” said Stephen Innes of Axi in a report.