PSEi closes above 6,200 amid inflation optimism and strong earnings

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) climbed above 6,200 points on Friday, extending its gains driven by optimism over continued inflation slowdown and strong corporate earnings.

The PSEi finished the trading day with a gain of 1.26 percent, closing at 6,298.29, with the All Shares index also rising 0.68 percent to 3,724.20.

Investors are encouraged by the Philippines' slowing inflation, which suggests positive implications for household consumption and potential central bank policy easing.

Strong fourth-quarter 2024 corporate results and the peso's appreciation against the dollar also contributed to the market's positive performance.

The peso closed at 57.21 to a dollar on Friday, strengthening from 57.32 the previous day.

Services firms led the gainers as index heavyweight International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) jumped by 8.15 percent to P385 each, after disclosing that busier trading activities boosted its earnings by 66 percent to $849.8 million last year.

The PSEi also marked its fifth consecutive session of gains, with foreigners making net purchases worth P158.85 million.