MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) on Wednesday made its biggest one-day gain since August 2007 after entering bear territory on Monday, the local bourse reported.
The bellwether PSEi returned to the 6,000 level after closing 329.88 points or 5.7 percent higher than Tuesday’s 5,789.06, bringing its current level to 6,118.94.
Positive news from the United States economy and listed companies’ impressive first quarter income performance gave PSEi a push after a massive selloff wiped its gains for the year.
On Monday, the main index slumped 3.05 percent or 181.99 points to 5,789.06, sinking by 21.68 percent after posting 7,392.20- its highest record- on May 15 this year. A decline of 20 percent or more signals the market’s entry into the bear market.
“Against a backdrop of solid fundamentals that have not changed even amidst the volatilities in the past weeks, the declines have served to put some stocks at attractive prices. I think this is what we saw today with the strong recovery of the market,” PSE Chairman Jose Pardo said.
He added that volatility is a natural effect of uncertainties due to policy announcements abroad.
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“When the market goes past the overreaction phase, countries with strong fundamentals and buffers against uncertainties should be able to stay the course of their growth. The causes for the Philippines’ impressive growth continue to persist and should remain strong moving forward,” Pardo said.
Earlier, the local bourse reported that earnings of its listed firms soared by 23 percent year-on-year on aggregate in the first quarter of 2013. Revenues for the same period similarly increased by 15.4 percent.
“We remain confident of our market’s ability to weather the storm. For the Exchange’s part, we stand by our commitment to implement the various market reforms that we have set out to accomplish, as well as to ensure that the PSE achieves its growth targets for the year. The PSE Board has recently approved new listings and additional issuances, and we expect more to come as the second half of 2013 approaches,” PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Hans Sicat said.
