PH stocks rise on easing banking sector fears

PHILIPPINE STOCKS rose further on Thursday in thin trade amid easing banking fears and positive data.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 13.78 points or 0.2% to close at 6,644.75 on Thursday, while the broader all shares index went up by 9.07 points or 0.25% to end at 3,538.73.

“Despite trading in sideways, the local bourse managed to gain 13.78 points or 0.2%, closing at 6,644.75, thanks to the continued easing of banking fears. Furthermore, the release of strong economic data domestically helped to ease investors’ concerns and contributed to the market’s positive momentum,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Analyst Claire T. Alviar said.

“BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) Governor Felipe M. Medalla has reassured investors that the local banks remain robust and that the recent monetary tightening measures do not pose any significant risks to the overall financial stability of the Philippines. Additionally, the market was boosted by the news of higher approved investments by the PEZA (Philippine Economic Zone Authority) in the first quarter of 2023 and the strong performance of domestic travel,” Ms. Alviar added.

The PEZA on Wednesday said it approved PHP 12.54 billion worth of investments in January to March from P8.14 billion in the same period last year.

China Bank Securities Corp. Research Director Rastine Mackie D. Mercado said in an e-mail that trading volume remained tepid, “which could indicate continuing investor disinterest.”

Value turnover decreased to PHP 4.03 billion on Thursday with 573.95 million shares changing hands from the PHP 13.01 billion with 2.29 billion issues on Wednesday.

“We also remain wary of possible weakness in the coming days as we expect investors to trim market exposures ahead of the March inflation report (due out next week) and next week’s long weekend,” Mr. Mercado said.

“The market managed to close higher in today’s session as likely driven by: (1) positive sentiment spillover from offshore markets, (2) and improving business optimism according to the BSP’s Business Expectations Survey,” he added.

The majority of sectoral indices closed higher on Thursday, except for property, which went down by 23.54 points or 0.84% to 2,773.63.

Meanwhile, services gained 13.29 points or 0.8% to end at 1,662.60; industrials increased by 63.74 points or 0.67% to 9,556.22; financials rose by 11.50 points or 0.63% to 1,811.82; mining and oil climbed by 50.75 points or 0.46% to 11,021.22; and holding firms went up by 10.06 points or 0.15% to 6,459.79.

Advancers outnumbered decliners, 98 versus 72, while 53 names closed unchanged.

Net foreign buying went down to PHP 557.39 thousand on Thursday from the PHP 2.70 billion seen on Wednesday.

China Bank Securities’ Mr. Mercado put the PSEi’s support at 6,400-6,420 and main resistance at 6,650. — AHH