HIGHER corporate earnings and strong macroeconomic fundamentals would propel the main index to end the year within the 8,600-8,900 level, First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) said.

In a briefing on Tuesday, FMIC Vice President Cristina Ulang gave a bullish outlook for the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi), projecting a price earnings ratio of 16.8x to 17.4x and earnings-per-share growth of 10.7 percent this year.