Stocks reclaim 6,000 territory

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April 21, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The local stock market kicked off the week with a win, buoyed by gains from Wall Street and bargain-hunting activities.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) advanced by 0.28 percent or 16.9 points to end yesterday’s session at 6,016.03.

The broader All Shares index also inched up by 0.23 percent or 7.66 points, settling at 3,382.44.

“Philippine equities held their ground, tracking Wall Street gains despite the overnight status change in the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting growing desensitization to volatility driven by developments in the Iran conflict,” AP Securities Inc. said.

Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said the PSEi bounced back from Friday’s drop and reclaimed the 6,000 level on bargain hunting.

Limlingan, however, said gains were tempered by selling pressure in the afternoon session.

“Sentiment stayed cautious after Iran threatened retaliation over the US seizure of a cargo ship, with its participation in peace talks in Pakistan still unconfirmed,” he said.

Sectoral gauges were a mixed bag, with holding firms leading the charge with a 0.87-percent gain, while industrial incurred the biggest loss at 0.34 percent.

Total turnover value opened the week at P7.17 billion.

Market breadth, however, was negative as decliners edged out advancers in a close contest, 105 to 101, while 60 issues were unchanged.

ICTSI was the session’s top traded stock, rising by 0.78 percent to P715 per share, followed by BDO Unibank and Ayala Land which declined by 0.75 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively, to P118.60 and P16.96.