MANILA: Philippine stocks achieved another new record on the 1st trading day of 2018, breaching the 8,700 level for the first time in history.
On Wednesday, January 3, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was at 8,724.13 points, up by 165.71 or 1.94% from last Friday, December 29. All sectoral indices also ended higher, with the Holding Firms and Property counters up the most, gaining 2.95% and 2.27%, respectively. Stock analysts attributed the rise to investors tracking upbeat sentiment on Wall Street and regional markets.
“Philippine markets resumed their bullish climb on opening day with another record high once again. Investors are continuing to make their bets on issues they believe will outperform for the rest of the year,” Marita Limlingan, president of Regina Capital Development Corporation, said in a note.