PSE index back above 6,700 on bargain hunting
PHILIPPINE SHARES recovered on Monday to return above the 6,700 mark as investors bought bargains following the market’s four-day slide last week.
The main Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 1.95% or 129.04 points to end at 6,742.89 on Monday, while the broader all shares index climbed by 1.35% or 50.52 points to 3,789.60.
“The local market bounced back this Monday as investors hunted for bargains following four straight days of decline,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Senior Research Analyst Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.
“Expectations that November inflation has remained biased towards the lower end of the government’s target also helped in today’s rise,” he added.
The Philippine Statistics Authority will release November inflation data on Dec. 5 (Thursday).
A BusinessWorld poll of 15 analysts conducted last week yielded a median estimate of 2.5% for the November consumer price index, within the central bank’s 2.2% to 3% forecast for the month.
If realized, the November print would be slightly faster than the 2.3% clip in October but slower than 4.1% in the same month a year ago.
This would also mark the 12th straight month that headline inflation was within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ 2-4% annual target.
“The positive cues from Wall Street’s performance last Friday gave the local market a boost,” Mr. Tantiangco said.
Wall Street closed higher on Nov. 29. The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index rose by 0.42% or 188.59 points to 44,910.65; the S&P 500 Index gained by 0.56% or 33.64 points to 6,032.38; and the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed by 0.83% or 157.69 points to 19,218.17.
“Philippine shares started the last month on a strong note as investors begin to look ahead at 2025,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.
“On the local front, the highlight of the week is the latest consumer price index report, scheduled for Dec. 5, followed by the release of the latest unemployment rate on Dec. 6,” he added.
All sectoral indices closed higher on Monday. Services climbed by 3.53% or 71.48 points to 2,094.69; holding firms rose by 3.33% or 186.61 points to 5,787.06; property went up by 0.76% or 19.11 points to 2,517.58; industrials increased by 0.61% or 55.99 points to 9,223.96; mining and oil added 0.51% or 38.66 points to end at 7,486.60; and financials inched up by 0.16% or 3.60 points to 2,258.26.
Value turnover dropped to P4.65 billion on Monday with 386.31 million shares traded from P5.8 billion with 405.66 million issues exchanged on Friday.
Advancers bested decliners, 109 versus 80, while 55 names were unchanged.
Net foreign selling went down to P77.68 million on Monday from P1.25 billion on Friday. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
