PSEi ends higher as investors pick up bargains

The main index rebounded slightly on Monday on bargain hunting following the market’s recent decline.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 0.24% or 14.54 points to close at 6,052.33. Meanwhile, the broader all shares index dropped by 0.07% or 2.85 points to end at 3,655.59.

“Local equities cautiously edged higher after marking an intraday low near the psychological support at 6,000, with bargain hunters stepping in to pick up battered blue chips,” AP Securities, Inc. said in a market note.

The PSEi opened Monday’s session at 6,026.11, slightly lower than Friday’s close of 6,037.79. It sank to an intraday low of 6,002.98, while its best showing was at 6,078.37.

“The PSEi opened the week in positive territory despite persistent trade uncertainties between the US and China that weighed on global markets. The index’s resilience was likely driven by bargain hunting, while investor sentiment was further lifted by the appreciation of the Philippine peso against the US dollar,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.

The peso was broadly steady against the dollar on Monday, closing at PHP 58.245, just a tad lower than Friday’s finish of PHP 58.24, Bankers Association of the Philippines data showed.

Meanwhile, world markets found steadier ground on Monday after being whipsawed by broadsides in the US-China trade war, while gold hit new record highs in a sign that uncertainty remained high, Reuters reported.

While US President Donald J. Trump had threatened 100% tariffs on China from Nov. 1 and Beijing threatened countermeasures, he sounded more conciliatory on Sunday, posting that everything would be fine and the US did not want to “hurt” China.

Beijing defended on Sunday its curbs on exports of rare earth elements and equipment as a response to US aggression, but stopped short of imposing new levies on US products.

US stock futures pointed to a rebound when Wall Street reopens on Tuesday, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq stock futures up more than 1% each.

Back home, most sectoral indices closed in the red on Monday. Industrials dropped by 1.22% or 110.26 points to 8,926.26; property sank by 0.42% or 9.67 points to 2,262.74; holding firms decreased by 0.19% or 9.57 points to 4,841.38; and financials dropped by 0.1% or 2.16 points to 2,019.59.

Meanwhile, mining and oil rose by 2.29% or 327.72 points to 14,640.08, and services jumped by 2% or 45.87 points to 2,330.18.

Value turnover declined to PHP 4.92 billion on Monday with 1.96 billion shares traded from Friday’s PHP 6.37 billion with 1.52 billion shares changing hands.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 121 to 76, while 52 names closed unchanged.

Net foreign buying was at PHP 09.29 million on Monday, a reversal of the PHP 1.01 billion in net selling recorded on Friday. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno with Reuters