Philippine shares ended slightly higher Thursday ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s rate-setting meeting slated later this week and easing global crude prices.
The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index added 23.09 points, or 0.38 percent, to close at 6,053.96 while the broader all-shares index rose 10.20 points, or 0.28 percent, to 3,637.58.
Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said investors looked for bargains ahead of a widely expected 25 basis points rate cut by the Fed.
Ricafort said investors also welcomed the easing global crude prices, which are currently at a 4.5-month low.
Sectoral indexes, meanwhile, ended mixed. Services rose by 1.72 percent while mining and oil and industrial climbed 1.26 percent and 0.52 percent, respectively.
On the other hand, financial dropped by 0.56 percent while holding firms and property slipped by 0.13 percent and 0.10 percent, respectively.
The Philippine peso, on the other hand, continued to weaken against the US dollar to close at 58.61 Thursday from 58.41 on Wednesday.
Value turnover amounted to P4.49 billion. Market breadth remained negative as decliners edged gainers 99 to 92 while 68 stocks were unchanged.
Shares of Manila Electric Co. climbed 2.96 percent to P592. On the other hand, the stock price of GT Capital Holdings Inc. declined by 2.78 percent to P559.
