Philippine shares rebound on bargain hunting

Philippine shares closed higher on Tuesday as investors took advantage of cheaper prices after the market’s two-day slide, with signals of a possible de-escalation in the Middle East conflict also lifting sentiment.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 0.62% or 37.02 points to close at 5,936.20, while the broader all shares index went up by 0.56% or 18.64 points to end at 3,295.23.

“The local market rose as investors hunted for bargains following two straight days of decline,” Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco, research manager at Philstocks Financial, Inc., said in a Viber message. “Investors are assessing the latest developments wherein President Donald J. Trump said that the US and Iran had productive talks and that the US would postpone its strike on Iran’s energy infrastructures.”

“The Philippine market rebounded after the previous session’s sharp sell-off, supported by improved sentiment following Donald Trump’s remarks about delaying the potential attack on Iran’s power plants,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message. “This temporary easing of geopolitical tensions helped lift equities, mirroring gains seen in global markets after the announcement. However, investors remain cautious as oil prices stay elevated amid ongoing supply risks and uncertainty in the Middle East.”

Stocks were on tenterhooks and oil prices rose in choppy trade on Tuesday as Mr. Trump’s postponement of the bombing of Iran’s power grid proved no panacea for investors worried about the ramifications of the Middle East war, Reuters reported.

US Treasury yields pushed higher and the dollar regained lost ground, in a retracement of the relief rally that swept markets overnight after Mr. Trump added five days to his Saturday ultimatum for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, citing “productive” talks with Tehran.

Much uncertainty remained as the world continues to grapple with an energy shock while Iran denied that it had engaged in negotiations with the US.

Most sectoral indices closed higher on Tuesday. Mining and oil rose by 3.39% or 495.60 points to 15,087.41; financials increased by 1.62% or 30.23 points to 1,889.03; property went up by 1.5% or 29.04 points to 1,957.15; holding firms climbed by 0.93% or 42.15 points to 4,538.68; and industrials went up by 0.74% or 64.38 points to 8,754.77.

Meanwhile, services declined by 0.48% or 13.29 points to 2,712.89.

Advancers outnumbered decliners, 129 to 63, while 59 names closed unchanged.

Value turnover declined to PHP 5.7 billion on Tuesday with 633.85 million shares traded from the PHP 8.17 billion with 1.36 billion issues that changed hands on Monday.

Net foreign selling decreased to PHP 755.56 million from PHP 1.34 billion in the previous session. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno with Reuters