PSEi gains as investors digest inflation uptick

MANILA -The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) saw muted gains on Tuesday after the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said inflation heated up to 5.3 percent on August.

By the closing bell, the PSEi added 0.17 percent, or 10.32 points, to 6,225, while the broader All Shares index was up 0.11 percent, or 3.70 points, to 3,360.14.

The latest inflation print breaks the six-month streak of cooling price increases. Moreover, the August inflation data was near the upper end of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas expected range of 4.8 percent to 5.6 percent.

The inflation average since January thus stood at 6.6 percent, according to the PSA.