LOCAL SHARES sustained their climb yesterday as investors turned bargain hunters amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) watch.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) advanced 76.72 points or 1.13% to 6,867.26 on Wednesday, while the broader all shares index gained 26.81 points or 0.66% to 4,089.06.

The PSEi’s rise is its highest in almost a month, following its 2.09% rise on Feb. 6 to 7,506.51.

“The market rose by 76.72 on last-minute bargain hunting,” Timson Securities, Inc. Trader Darren T. Pangan said in a text message. “This is despite value turnover decreasing to P6.08 billion and foreigners remaining net sellers.”

Value turnover yesterday improved from Tuesday’s P5.83 billion with 674.7 million issues switching hands. Net foreign selling also declined to P724.48 million from P915.46 million the day prior.

For Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan, the improvement in the local market may also be attributed to the performance of US markets on Tuesday: the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices fell 2.94%, 2.81% and 2.99%, respectively.

He said investors reacted to the drop in 10-year US Treasury yields to a historic low of below 1% and the emergency rate cut by the US Federal Reserve by 0.5%.

Markets in Asia-Pacific ended mixed on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.08%, China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 index gained 0.58% and South Korea’s Kospi index jumped 2.24%. But Japan’s Topix index declined 0.17%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.24% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index lost 1.71%.

Most Southeast Asian stock markets slipped on Wednesday, tracking Wall Street as a surprise rate cut by the US Federal Reserve failed to allay fears over the coronavirus’s impact, while dismal China economic data dented sentiment as well.

The move was upended by “worries about the depth and duration of negative economic ripples from COVID-19 impact; doubts about efficacy of rate cuts, and lack of details on transmission/credit relief measures,” Vishnu Varathan, a senior economist at Mizuho Bank, said in a note, Reuters reported.

Back home, property rose 70.79 points or 1.91% to 3,777.97; holding firms added 66.99 points or 1.01% to 6,692.53; financials grew 11.71 points or 0.73% to 1,615.83; and industrials gained 32.46 points or 0.40% to 8,154.62.

On the other hand, mining and oil decreased 31.86 points or 0.50% to 6,327.67; and services lost 2.57 points or 0.19% to 1,342.92.

Names that fell at the market’s close stood at 123, while names that gained clocked in at 74. Those that ended unchanged were 37.

“The market was able to breach the 6,800 levels today. We may have to see if the 6,800 level holds while next support is around 6,740,” Timson Securities’ Mr. Pangan said. — Denise A. Valdez with Reuters

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