Philippine stocks rebound on bargain-hunting
PHILIPPINE SHARES recovered on Wednesday as players picked up bargains after the market’s five-day slide, even as sentiment stayed cautious amid a standoff between the United States and Iran.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 0.7% or 41.10 points to close at 5,907.89, while the broader all shares index went up by 0.69% or 23.2 points to end at 3,343.60.
“The PSEi’s modest rebound appears largely technical, with bargain-hunting emerging after recent weakness but lacking strong conviction amid persistent macro and external headwinds,” Unicapital Securities, Inc. Research Head Wendy B. Estacio-Cruz said in a Viber message.
“Sentiment remains fragile amid continued peso depreciation and renewed increases in crude oil prices. We see the index likely to trade within a narrow range unless supported by stronger-than-expected earnings.”
The main stock benchmark on Tuesday sank by 34.36 points or 0.58% to close at 5,866.79, its weakest finish since November, on heightened worries over the Middle East conflict.
“The Philippine market ended higher, snapping a five-day losing streak as bargain-hunting emerged after the recent sell-off. Investor sentiment improved after the market took positively the UAE’s decision to exit OPEC, raising expectations of lower global fuel prices. This helped ease inflation concerns and provided near-term support for equities,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday said it was quitting the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), dealing a blow to the oil producers’ group as an unprecedented energy crisis caused by the Iran war exposes discord among Gulf nations, Reuters reported. Oil prices on international markets trimmed gains on Tuesday following the UAE’s announcement.
OPEC Gulf producers have been struggling to ship exports through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint between Iran and Oman through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes, because of Iranian threats and attacks against vessels.
At home, sectoral indices closed mixed. Services jumped by 1.32% or 36.48 points to 2,782.59; industrials increased by 1.29% or 112.65 points to 8,831.03; and financials went up by 0.32% or 5.83 points to 1,819.25.
Meanwhile, property declined by 0.08% or 1.56 points to 1,940.36; mining and oil slipped by 0.06% or 11.31 points to 17,971.05; and holding firms edged down by 0.02% or 1.14 points to 4,525.14.
Advancers beat decliners, 105 to 78, while 54 names were unchanged.
Value turnover went down to P7.72 billion on Wednesday with 1.34 billion shares traded from the P8.07 billion with 1.52 billion issues that changed hands on Tuesday.
Net foreign buying was at P279.59 million, a turnaround from the P878.07 million in net selling in the previous session. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno with Reuters
