MANILA – Local shares bounced back on Thursday as bargain hunters looked for markets with no presence yet of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), while the peso ended the day’s trading almost unchanged.
After dipping below the 7,000-level on Wednesday, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rebounded to 7,032.54, increasing by 85.48 points, or 1.23 percent.
All Shares increased by 38.12 points, or 1.02 percent, to 3,772.50.
All counters gained during the day’s trading, led by Mining and Oil, finishing at 9,468.83 points, followed by Industrial, Holding Firms, Services, Property, and Financials.
“Investors finally became bargain hunters in the Philippine market as many stayed away from countries with reported cases of the Omicron variant,” Regina Capital Development Corp. managing director Luis Limlingan said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed the first case of the Omicron Covid-19 variant in the United States.
Cases of the variant have been confirmed in at least 25 economies – Australia, Austria, Belgium, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
“The new-found threat to the recovery from the pandemic, which caused several travel bans, was intensified by the Federal Reserve mulling a quicker-than-planned exit from its easy monetary policy,” Limlingan added.
Meanwhile, trading between the Philippine peso and the US dollar was almost unchanged.
The peso closed at 50.40 to the dollar from the previous day’s finish of 50.34.
The local currency opened the day weaker at 50.38 and traded between 50.32 and 50.44.
Total volume traded declined to USD880.25 million from USD1.03 billion on Wednesday. (PNA)
