LOCAL SHARES ended the week higher amid a recommendation to place Metro Manila under eased restriction measures as the government finalizes its vaccination program.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange (PSEi) gained 76.77 points or 1.12% to finish at 6,926.41 on Friday. The all shares index also rose 28.51 points or 0.68% to close at 4,199.

“The market rebounded today, perhaps aided by the possible call to go to MGCQ (modified general community quarantine). Also the market found some support near the 6,800 zone after correcting for almost five days,” COL Financial Group, Inc. Chief Technical Analyst Juanis G. Barredo said in a Viber message on Friday.

“Market continued to be resilient on account of the expected economic reopening and vaccination,” First Metro Investment Corp. Head of Research Cristina S. Ulang said in a separate Viber message.

“Continuing market theme is the hunt for yield and recovery play which both reinforce equities as the favorite asset class more than bonds whose duration risk is heightened by rising inflation and the BSP’s (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) reduced presence in the secondary debt markets,” Ms. Ulang added.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte is expected to make a decision on the MGCQ recommendation next week. More businesses will be allowed to operate under this type of lockdown and transportation services will also increase.

All sectoral indices at the PSE ended in the green on Friday. Holding firms increased by 168.18 points or 2.39% to 7,187.4; mining and oil grew by 182.4 points or 1.98% to 9,396.67; financials improved by 9.62 points or 0.65% to 1,471.50; services climbed 2.4 points or 0.16% to 1,479.37; industrials gained 9.31 points or 0.1% to 8,963.93; and property inched up by 1.71 points or 0.05% to finish at 3,445.68.

Value turnover went up to P9.56 billion on Friday with 16.37 billion shares switching hands, from the P8.9 billion with 16.62 billion shares traded the previous day.

Decliners beat advances, 116 against 98, while 41 names closed unchanged.

Net foreign selling went down to P579.54 million on Friday from the P1.25 billion recorded on Thursday.

“Investors returned to the Philippines for bargain hunting after successive sell-offs after recent economic data showed only a slightly better labor market amid increasing bond yields. Investors are now worried over potential inflation spikes driven by elevated commodity and energy prices,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said via Viber.

“We hope nothing untoward would come to offset this rebound, like a correction from the US. The PSEi still remains in a consolidation and has its range pegged between 6,800-6,600 low and around 7,200 to 7,500 high band,” COL Financial Group, Inc. Chief Technical Analyst Barredo said. — K.C.G. Valmonte

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