PSE index rebounds from Thursday’s fall

March 20, 2020

Philippine shares rallied from its biggest fall in eight years on Thursday as the main index gained 3.3 percent on Friday.

The peso finished at P50.97 against the US dollar from P51.1 on Thursday. Volume at the foreign exchange portal of the Bankers Association of the Philippines reached $576 million from Thursday's $597.08 million.

The Philippine Stock Exchange ( PSE) index finished at 4,778.76, up 155.24 points. It soared to as high as 4,914.76, a jump of 291.34 points at 9:40 am.

In the broader market, there were 117 gainers, 85 losers and 30 unchanged.

''The COVID-19 outbreak is not a permanent risk. This too shall pass. Thus, the depressed prices in the stock market and its impact to the economy is temporary. There is no need to unload your shares,'' said Jonathan Ravelas, BDO chief market strategist, in his Facebook post.

Volume reached 659.47 million shares worth P6.66 billion from Thursday's 1.25 billion shares valued at P9.42 billion.

Most active shares were led by SM Investment Corp., up P54.50 to P721.50; Ayala Land, up p3.35 to P26.30; Ayala Corp., up P16 to P410 and PLDT, down P63.50 to P860.50. DMS