MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed back to the 6,000 level, as the economy started to wake up after months of hibernating due to the coronavirus.

After settling at the 5,000 level for over two months, the PSEi jumped by 1.6% to 6,025 on Tuesday, June 2. 

The broader all shares inched up by 1.2%, while all other subindices closed in the green.

This is the PSEi’s best performance since March, when it fell to the 4,000 level as the government lockdown forced financial markets to close and eventually triggered circuit breakers. (READ: Coronavirus wipes out P1.16 trillion in Philippine stock market)

Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said investors focused more on the potential for an economic rebound in the Philippines, rather than the strife in regional economies that sparked chaos especially in the United States.

“Investors also monitored Sino-American trade tensions and efforts in the US, and much of the world, to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic,” Limlingan said.

Despite the gain, the year-to-date return is still down by 23%. Current levels remain far from pre-pandemic projections of the stock market hitting 9,000 in 2020.

The most actively traded companies on Tuesday were SM Investments (2.8%), SM Prime (0.8%), Security Bank (8.5%), Globe (-2.3%), and GT Capital (-1.3%).

The top gainer was Grand Plaza Hotel Corporation (49%), while Anchor Land Holdings suffered the sharpest drop (-15.6%).

A total of 117 companies advanced and 61 declined, while 43 were unchanged.

Foreign buying stood at P3.95 billion, while foreign selling reached P2.8 billion, resulting in net foreign buying of P1.1 billion. – Rappler.com