Shares up on bargain hunting, Wall Street’s rise

THE MAIN STOCK benchmark rebounded on Tuesday and returned to the 6,300 level as investors picked up bargains following the market’s two-day slump, tracking Wall Street’s climb overnight.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) increased by 0.52% or 33.03 points to end at 6,306.90, while the broader all shares index inched up by 0.01% or 0.65 point to 3,581.08.

“Investors went bargain hunting again after two consecutive days of decline… The local bourse was also supported by the positive spillovers from Wall Street,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Manager Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq advanced for a fourth consecutive session on Monday, as investors geared up for a slew of megacap earnings and a US Federal Reserve update on interest rate policy later this week, Reuters reported.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 313.69 points or 0.64% to 49,412.40; the S&P 500 gained 34.62 points or 0.5% to 6,950.23; and the Nasdaq Composite gained 100.11 points or 0.43% to 23,601.36.

“The PSEi ended higher after several days of decline, as investors engaged in bargain hunting. Market sentiment was further supported by the ADB’s (Asian Development Bank) forecast that GDP (gross domestic product) growth could reach 6% by 2027 if both private and public investments increase,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message. “This improved outlook helped lift risk appetite and encouraged selective buying across the market.”

ADB Country Director for the Philippines Andrew Jeffries also said that the country must raise the share of exports in the economy to support long-term growth, as well as diversify its base, and boost resilience.

Sectoral indices closed mixed on Tuesday. Services surged by 1.37% or 34.32 points to 2,535.90; holding firms increased by 1.36% or 68.66 points to 5,088.40; and industrials went up by 0.23% or 20.77 points to 8,987.52.

Meanwhile, mining and oil went down by 1.53% or 288.68 points to 18,515.39; financials fell by 0.65% or 13.86 points to 2,108.60; and property decreased by 0.64% or 14.50 points to 2,252.07.

“Ayala Corp. was the day’s index leader, climbing 3.62% to P529. Alliance Global Group, Inc. (AGI) was at the tail end, falling 5.19% to P7.30,” Mr. Tantiangco said. “This comes following the stock’s announced removal from the PSE index.”

The PSE on Monday said it will add RL Commercial REIT, Inc. to the PSEi and remove AGI effective Feb. 2.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 112 to 85, while 61 names closed unchanged.

Value turnover surged to P15.85 billion on Tuesday with 2.23 billion shares traded from the P5.77 billion with 1.21 billion issues that changed hands on Monday.

Net foreign buying was at P7.41 billion, a reversal of the P13.06 million in net selling recorded on Monday. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno with Reuters