THE main gauge of the Philippine stock market, the PSE index (PSEi) ended the first half with a 7.1 percent gain year-to-date, which also made it the third best performing stock index in the Association of Southeast Asian Nation.

On June 28 2019, the PSEi closed at 7,999.71. The All Shares index, on the other hand, climbed 8.3 percent in the first six months of the year to 4,893.78.

Four of six sector indices finished higher, with the Services Sector posting the biggest year-to-date gain of 18.6 percent. The Financials and Mining and Oil Sectors closed 3.4 percent and 7.4 percent lower, respectively, at the end of June 2019.

“The PSE is among the emerging markets that benefited from foreign fund inflows which are looking for attractive returns as US interest rates remain steady,” said PSE president and chief executive officer Ramon Monzon. (PR)