Philippine stocks surged to a two-month high, buoyed by dovish signals from the US Federal Reserve and the possibility of a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas rate cut later this year.
On Thursday, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) reversed course from losses early in the session to gain 1.85 percent to 6,609.24, its strongest finish since May 24.
“Investors grew more optimistic throughout the day as markets priced in Powell’s statement that the Fed would not wait until inflation had hit its 2 percent target before cutting,” AP Securities senior research analyst Francis Ferdinand Subido said.
“With US inflation set to come out tonight, traders ramped up their bets that a cut would take place by September,” he added.
Blue chip gainers were led by BDO Uninbank (+1.99 percent), Globe Telecom (+2.38 percent) and Robinsons Land Corp. (+0.42 percent). Trading activity picked up with 427.7 million shares valued at P6.8 changing hands.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
