SHARES bounced back on Tuesday as investors placed their bets ahead of the release of August inflation data on Wednesday.
The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed 0.63% or 49.60 points to 7,881.82 Tuesday, September 4, recovering from slight losses posted in the previous session.
The broader all-shares index likewise rallied 0.49% or 23.69 points to 4,795.86.
“Philippine shares managed to eke out some gains relying on the futures for some guidance with some investors making bets on inflation,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile message.
Wall Street indices were closed overnight for the Labor Day Holiday, but the Dow Jones mini futures recorded a 40-point increase to 26,038. S&P 500 mini added 7.25 points, while the Nasdaq mini gained 24 points.
Investors also looked ahead to the August inflation report to be released by the Philippine Statistics Authority. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas sees the headline figure settling at 5.5-6.2%, while the Department of Finance gave an estimate of 5.9%.
Mr. Limlingan said they expect inflation to reach 6% in August due to rising prices of food items amid weather disturbances, as well as increasing gasoline and power rates.
“Aside from inflation, the recent local manufacturing proved well. The PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) rose 51.9 in August, showing an improvement of 1.0 from the 50.9 recorded in July, still indicating an economic expansion,” he added.
A reading above 50 in the Nikkei Philippines Manufacturing PMI indicates economic expansion, while below 50 means economic contraction. Higher demand in the domestic market was the primary driver, according to the survey, as export sales recorded its weakest growth in a six-month period.
Meanwhile, Papa Securities Corp. trader Gabriel Jose F. Perez attributed the increase to foreign investors’ performance for the day.
“The PSEi performed strongly throughout the day ahead of [Wednesday’s] inflation data release, a contrast from [Monday’s] subdued trading… This could also be attributed to the somewhat lighter net foreign selling of only P257 million versus [Monday’s] P702 million,” Mr. Perez said in an e-mail.
All sectoral counters finished in positive territory, led by mining and oil which picked up 1.07% or 107.20 points to 10,075.57, followed by industrials which gained 0.91% or 102.21 points to 11,325.66. Holding firms rose 0.68% or 53.32 points to 7,819.58; property went up 0.49% or 19.45 points to 3,930; services gained 0.41% or 6.42 points to end at 1,543.69; while financials added 0.14% or 2.59 points to 1,804.60.
Some 874.59 million issues valued at P5.94 billion switched hands, slightly higher than Monday’s P5.60-billion turnover.
Advancers outpaced decliners, 101 to 87, while 52 issues remained unchanged. — Arra B. Francia

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR