By Arra B. Francia, Senior Reporter

LOCAL EQUITIES rose on Wednesday as investors went bargain hunting on the back of optimism for good earnings results in the first quarter.

The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) firmed up 0.35% or 28.06 points to close at 7,846.99 yesterday, ending its two-day losing streak. The broader all-shares index likewise climbed 0.14% or 7.01 points to close at 4,846.05.

“Market rebounded today on bargain hunting as foreign investors continued to buy as manifested by the sustained net foreign buying & initial first quarter earnings showed positive growth as disclosed by BDO & RFM despite reenacted government budget,” Diversified Securities, Inc. Equity Trader Aniceto K. Pangan said in a text message on Wednesday.

BDO Unibank, Inc. reported on Monday that its net income surged by 66% to P9.8 billion in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the P5.9 billion it posted in the same period a year ago.

Meanwhile, listed ice cream and pasta manufacturer RFM Corp. said in a regulatory filing that net income attributable to the parent grew by 4.7% to P221 million, after gross revenues went up by 11% to P3.11 billion.

Net foreign buying also persisted for the third straight session, swelling to P1.85 billion from P494.66 million on Tuesday.

The PSEi tracked the positive results seen in Wall Street overnight. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.55% or 145.34 points to 26,656.39. The S&P 500 index edged higher by 0.88% or 25.71 points to 2,933.68, while the Nasdaq Composite index inched up 1.32% or 105.56 points to 8,120.82.

“There was some push with US stock benchmarks rallying on Tuesday to notch record closing highs as Wall Street cheered stronger-than-expected quarterly profits from some of the largest publicly traded US companies,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message.

Sectoral indices were equally split between gainers and losers. The mining and oil counter led advancers, jumping 3.01% or 230.03 points to 7,870.96. Holding firms increased 1.2% or 89.97 points to 7,586.10, while property gained 0.92% or 38.87 points to 4,229.56.

Meanwhile, services plunged 1.68% or 26.96 points to close at 1,577.43. Industrials shed 0.62% or 71.46 points to 11,458.58, while financials slipped 0.1% or 1.79 points to 1,731.59.

Decliners outpaced advancers, 105 to 87, while 51 names were unchanged.

Turnover improved to P8.10 billion after some 652.13 million issues switched hands, higher than the previous session’s P6.60 billion.

Most Southeast Asian stock markets also rose on Wednesday as a swathe of strong US corporate earnings perked up risk appetite and spread positive sentiment across Asia.

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