By Denise A. Valdez, Reporter

THE LOCAL BOURSE welcomed the Yuletide season with glee as Philippine shares increased on positive sentiment on China’s purchasing managers index (PMI) and Sino-US trade negotiations.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) jumped 138.23 points or 1.78% to close at 7,877.19 on Monday, as the broader all shares index rose 53.84 points or 1.16% to 4,686.68.

“The local market rallied in concurrence with most Asian markets amid better China PMI data and on risk on sentiment following the US China Phase 1 deal,” Research Associate Piper Chaucer E. Tan of Philstocks Financial, Inc. said in a text message.

“Investors triggered the bargain hunting to local shares as a result of sluggish performance of the past trading week and the so-called Santa Claus rally,” he added.

Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan shared a similar comment, saying in a mobile message that the positive start came in as “investors optimistically waited for a solid trade deal to be signed.”

“Aside from this, many are already looking forward to next year. After slowing sharply for two years, global growth is expected to recover moderately in 2020,” Mr. Limlingan added, referring to the International Monetary Fund’s global growth forecast of 3.5% next year from 3.2% this year.

Despite reports citing news website Axios that the trade talks between United States and China are stalled because of the pro-Hong Kong bill that US legislated last week, some believe that the negotiations are still “on-track.”

In an opinion piece by Tokyo-based journalist William Pesek published on the Nikkei Asian Review Monday, he pointed out US President Donald Trump’s comment when he signed the bill, saying “certain provisions…would interfere with the exercise of the president’s constitutional authority.” He said this is an indication that the law’s implementation is up to Mr. Trump’s discretion, assuring China that it still has his support.

After the pro-Hong Kong bill was signed, Wall Street stocks declined: the Dow Jones Industrial Average index by 0.40%, the S&P 500 index by 0.40% and the Nasdaq Composite index by 0.46%.

At the local bourse, four sectoral indices went up: property by 88.78 points or 2.19% to 4,132.38; holding firms by 149.63 points or 1.96% to 7,780.06; financials by 36.25 points or 1.96% to 1,878.05; and industrials by 63.71 points or 0.65% to 9,845. Meanwhile, mining and oil declined by 258.33 points or 3.2% to 7,795.74 and services dropped 4.57 points or 0.29% to 1,541.91.

Value trading dropped to P5.31 billion on Monday from Friday’s P6.37 billion, as 1.28 billion issues changed hands.

Stocks that fell edged up those that gained, 104 against 86, as 49 names were unchanged.

Net foreign buying was logged at P359.27 million on Monday, a reversal of the previous session’s P425.21-million net outflow.

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