By Denise A. Valdez, Reporter

LOCAL SHARES snapped their three-day losing streak yesterday on the back of improved investor sentiment evidenced by a rebound in global markets.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed 25.80 points or 0.46% to close at 5,599.55 on Thursday. The broader all shares index likewise added 20.64 points or 0.6% to 3,408.81.

“The local market rallied with strong leads as crude oil rebounded, providing some support to the market,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile message.

After falling to negative territory at the start of the week, the price of crude oil in the United States recovered by as much as 20%. This resulted in gains in Wall Street, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices improving 1.99%, 2.29% and 2.81%, respectively, on Wednesday.

Asian markets also performed better on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Topix indices rose 1.52% and 1.36%, respectively, and South Korea’s Kospi index increased 0.98%.

Despite a higher close for the local bourse, PNB Securities, Inc. President Manuel Antonio G. Lisbona said investors are still tiptoeing around the situation.

“The market reached a high of 5,672 before weakening at the close to settle at 5,599 which implies an underlying cautiousness among investors,” he said in a text message.

With the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic still going on, investors remain on close watch for any development that may drag the market down.

“Immediate support can be found at the previous low of 5,460 and immediate resistance can be found at 5,800,” Mr. Lisbona said.

Sectoral indices at the PSE were mostly gainers on Thursday. Mining and oil grew 55.12 points or 1.21% to 4,609.44; property rose 25.93 points or 0.92% to 2,839.59; holding firms added 31.01 points or 0.56% to 5,541.92; financials climbed 5.53 points or 0.46% to 1,195.13; and services picked up by 2.98 points or 0.23% to 1,298.31.

The sole losing index was industrials, which shed 10.56 points or 0.14% to 7,267.07.

Value turnover stood at P4.37 billion with 697.10 million issues switching hands, lower than Wednesday’s P5.07 million worth of 600.52 million issues.

“Trading volumes were the lowest in several weeks as most investors stayed on the sidelines. It is currently down 3.4% for the week. We may see it continue to move higher unless trading volumes continue to decline,” AAA Southeast Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun said in an e-mail.

There were 114 advancers, 66 decliners and 49 names that ended unchanged yesterday.

Net foreign selling grew to P440.43 million from P236.22 million a day ago.

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