Local stocks eke out gains on bargain hunting

Philippine stocks rose on Wednesday to snap their five-day losing streak as investors bought bargains and waited for fresh leads.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 0.63% or 40.02 points to close at 6,375.35, while the broader all shares index went up by 0.46% or 17.37 points to 3,737.94.

“The local market’s sideways movement ended in the positive territory on the back of bargain hunting. Appreciation of corporate fundamentals helped in the rise,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Senior Research Analyst Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.

“Philippine shares booked modest growth on Wednesday, gaining 0.63% despite a slow start earlier in the session, as investors looked for new catalysts following the earnings season,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.

Mr. Limlingan added that the local market closed higher despite the weaker performance of US shares overnight.

“Wall Street edged lower from the recent recovery run, halting a six-day streak of gains amid ongoing trade uncertainty and political hurdles over tax legislation affecting investor optimism,” he said.

US stocks fell on Tuesday, with the benchmark S&P 500 ending six straight sessions of gains, under pressure from rising Treasury yields, with the US sovereign debt profile in focus, Reuters reported.

US President Donald J. Trump traveled to Capitol Hill, seeking to persuade Republican lawmakers to pass a sweeping tax-cut bill, which analysts estimate will possibly add $3 trillion-$5 trillion to the federal government’s USD 36.2 trillion in debt.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 114.83 points or 0.27% to 42,677.24; the S&P 500 lost 23.14 points or 0.39% to 5,940.46; and the Nasdaq Composite lost 72.75 points or 0.38% to 19,142.71.

Moody’s and the other big ratings agencies Fitch and S&P Global Ratings have downgraded the US sovereign credit, citing the government’s debt profile.

At home, majority of sectoral indices closed higher on Wednesday. Mining and oil rose by 4.64% or 419.77 points to 9,453.45; holding firms went up by 1.34% or 72.29 points to 5,447.64; financials climbed by 1.12% or 26.35 points to 2,376.68; and services increased by 0.13% or 2.83 points to 2,110.63.

Meanwhile, property dropped by 0.6% or 13.55 points to 2,236.30 and industrials declined by 0.08% or 7.44 points to 9,029.66.

“Bank of the Philippine Islands led the index members, climbing 4.27% to PHP 136.70. China Banking Corp. was at the tail end, plunging 6.36% to PHP 76.50,” Mr. Tantiangco said.

Value turnover went up PHP 7.63 billion on Wednesday with 712.07 million shares traded from the PHP 7.32 billion with 1.35 billion stocks exchanged on Tuesday.

Advancers outnumbered decliners, 107 to 81, while 52 names were unchanged.

Net foreign selling dropped to PHP 287.34 million on Wednesday from PHP 886.21 million on Tuesday. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave with Reuters