Local bourse still in rally, gains 71 pts.

The bellwether index on Tuesday gained 71.16 points, or 1.00 percent, to close at 7,175.36.

Majority of sectors were in green territory, with Holding Firms, increasing by 1.85 percent, leading advancers, followed by Properties up by 1.48 percent and Industrials by 0.77 percent.

Lone loser was the Services index, which declined by 0.76 percent.

Top gainer

Ayala Corporation was the top index gainer, jumping by 4.10 percent to P660.00. Meanwhile, Converge ICT Solutions Inc. was the biggest loser, decreasing by 2.89 percent to P16.14.

International Container Terminal Services Inc. was the most actively traded stock with a value of P725,239,076.00, down by 2.03 percent, followed by DigiPlus Interactive Corp. with a value of 721,507,740, rising by 10.56 percent.

Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan linked the continued rally of the local bourse to optimism on an expected rate cut from the Federal Reserve following a policy meeting on Wednesday.

Market sentiment

“Market sentiment currently prices in a 67 percent likelihood of a 50-basis-point cut, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool,” he said in a Viber message.

“Gold prices also ticked higher in anticipation of the Fed’s decision, with spot gold rising 0.2 percent to $2,580.24/oz. Meanwhile, oil prices gained 1.28 percent, with Brent crude hitting $72.53/bbl, as Hurricane Francine disrupted supply in the Gulf of Mexico,” he added.

Value turnover was P6.67 billion. Decliners outnumbered Advancers at 117 to 94, while 41 names were unchanged.

Meanwhile, the peso closed at P55.88 against the US dollar.