The main index ended Friday’s trading session with gains as last-minute bargain hunting lifted the market on improved jobs data in the United States.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) picked up 8.58 points or 0.13% to close at 6,372.66 on Friday. The broader all shares index increased 0.95 point or 0.02% to 3,717.93.

The PSEi hit a low of 6,322.92 in the intraday and reached a high of 6,398.79 before settling at 6,372.66 at the close.

“Local shares rose following a better-than-expected US jobs report as the economy continued to recover from the coronavirus pandemic,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile message.

The US government reported on Thursday that non-farm payrolls grew by 4.8 million in June, which Reuters noted was the highest since 1939.

However, reports of improving economic data, including the improved manufacturing data in several countries as reported earlier this week, come on the backdrop of rising cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

As of Friday, Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center showed there were 10.87 million COVID-19 cases across the world, with deaths reaching 521,298.

“(Friday’s) trading shows that there’s still mixed sentiment in the market. Optimists and pessimists were in a tug-of-war backed by economic recovery hopes and COVID-19 spread risks respectively,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Senior Research Analyst Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a text message.

But he said positive sentiment over the US jobs report prevailed on Friday, matched by the bullishness of foreign investors for the third straight day. Offshore investors were net buyers at the PSE with net inflows growing to P834.22 million from the previous day’s P59.32 million.

Most sectoral indices closed with gains as well. Mining and oil rose 114.64 points or 2.20% to 5,306.84; property grew 25.67 points or 0.81% to 3,169.68; holding firms gained 26.70 points or 0.40% to 6,565.99; and services climbed 0.69 point or 0.04% to 1,432.08.

On the other hand, financials fell 9.43 points or 0.73% to 1,267.56 and industrials lost 45.56 points or 0.57% to 7,950.73.

Value turnover was steady at P7.39 billion against P7.35 billion the previous day. Some 2.66 billion issues switched hands on Friday, up from Thursday’s 761.37 million issues.

Decliners beat advancers, 103 against 92, while 45 names ended unchanged. — Denise A. Valdez

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