PSEi rebounds as Wall Street rallies after break

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter
LOCAL EQUITIES recovered on Thursday amid a stellar performance from Wall Street overnight.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) bounced back 0.43% or 32.65 points to close at 7,482.66, restoring hopes the index may end the year above the 7,500 mark. The broader all-shares index also gained 0.53% or 24.21 points to finish at 4,514.13.
“Our index trailed the bounce that happened in the US markets last night. The news about trade talks between China and the US that is set to take place on Jan. 7. may have influenced the rally in the western markets as well as in PSEi,” Timson Securities, Inc. Equities trader Jervin S. de Celis said in a mobile phone message on Thursday.
Wall Street indices rallied to their best finish in almost a decade overnight after staging its worst Christmas eve finish in the previous session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 4.98% or 1,086.25 points to 22,878.45. The S&P 500 index jumped 4.96% or 116.60 points to 2,467.70, while the Nasdaq Composite index firmed up 5.84% or 361.44 points to close at 6,554.36.
P2P Trade Online Sales Associate Gabriel Jose F. Perez noted that the PSEi’s performance was flat compared to US markets, which could indicate that investors are still waiting on the sidelines.
“Participants could still be on a wait and see mode to see if the rally [on Wednesday] will be sustainable,” Mr. Perez said in an e-mail.
Meanwhile, Southeast Asian shares rose on Thursday, tracking a dramatic rebound on Wall Street powered by upbeat US holiday sales data and the Trump administration’s efforts to boost investor confidence.
Back home, four sectoral indices advanced. Industrials jumped 1.06% or 116.39 points to 11,028.13; mining and oil gained 0.7% or 57.93 points to 8,234.54; holding firms rose 0.7% or 51.48 points to 7,368.34; while financials climbed 0.66% or 11.61 points to 1,767.52.
In contrast, services dropped 0.2% or 2.98 points to 1,435.46, while property slipped 0.06% or 2.39 points to 3,627.48.
Some 1.65 billion issues valued at P5.16 billion switched hands, higher than the previous session’s P3.39-billion turnover.
Advancers outpaced decliners, 113 to 82, while 40 names were unchanged.
Foreign investors remained in selling mode, although net sales fell to P328.3 million from Wednesday’s P766.43 million.
Thirteen of the 20 most actively traded stocks registered gains, including D&L Industries, Inc. (up 2.67%), BDO Unibank, Inc. (up 2.13%), and Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc. (up 1.92%). Five stocks went down, including Ayala Land, Inc. (down 1.58%) and Ayala Corp. (down 0.66%). The other two ended flat.
“We still have one trading day left and I still expect the market to close a bit higher than 7,500 [on Friday] on a possible window dressing activity,” Timson Securities’ Mr. De Celis said.