Philippine stocks extend climb on Wall Street’s gains

Philippine stocks ended in the green for a second straight day as players continued to pick up cheap shares, and as Wall Street’s climb overnight helped improve market sentiment.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 0.39% or 23.89 points to close at 6,076.22, while broader all shares index increased by 0.35% or 13.04 points to end at 3,668.63.

“The local market extended its climb as investors continued with their bargain hunting. The recent decline in the local long-term Treasury yields amid the dovish outlook of the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) continued to help the local bourse,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Manager Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.

“The positive cues from Wall Street also gave the market a boost.”

The BSP last week delivered a fourth straight 25-basis-point (bp) cut to bring the policy rate to a three-year low of 4.75% as it warned that a widening corruption scandal has affected investor confidence, leading to weaker prospects for economic growth. It has now lowered benchmark rates by a total of 175 bps since its easing cycle began in August 2024.

BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. said another cut is possible at the Monetary Board’s last policy meeting for this year, which will be held in December. More reductions are also on the table next year as they seek to support growth while the inflation outlook also remains manageable.

Meanwhile, Wall Street’s main indexes ended sharply higher on Monday after President Donald J. Trump struck a conciliatory tone about renewed US-China trade tensions, easing investor worries, Reuters reported.

The S&P 500 climbed 1.56% to end the session at 6,654.72 points. The Nasdaq gained 2.21% to 22,694.61 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.29% to 46,067.58 points.

“The Philippine market continued to advance on tepid value turnover as investors await fresh leads,” AP Securities, Inc. said in a market note.

Value turnover increased to PHP 6.17 billion on Tuesday with 3.17 billion shares traded from Monday’s PHP 4.92 billion with 1.96 billion shares changing hands.

The majority of sectoral indices closed in the green on Tuesday. Mining and oil jumped by 2.4% or 352.10 points to 14,992.18; industrials went up by 0.88% or 79.22 points to 9,005.48; holding firms rose by 0.76% or 37.23 points to 4,878.61; financials increased by 0.69% or 14.06 points to 2,033.65; and property climbed by 0.65% or 14.72 points to 2,277.46.

Meanwhile, services sank by 1.1% or 25.85 points to end at 2,304.33.

“BDO Unibank, Inc. led the index members, climbing 1.78% to PHP 137.40. Puregold Price Club, Inc. was at the tail end, falling 2.43% to PHP 40.10,” Mr. Tantiangco said.

Advancers outnumbered decliners, 102 to 87, while 62 names closed unchanged.

Net foreign selling was at PHP 345.88 million on Tuesday, a reversal of the PHP 109.29 million in net buying on Monday. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno with Reuters