PSEi inches higher as market waits for new leads

The main index inched up on Tuesday amid a lack of fresh drivers ahead of the release of July inflation data later this week.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) edged up by 2.33 points or 0.03% to close at 6,593.80 on Tuesday, while the broader all shares index slipped by 0.72 point or 0.02% to 3,515.95.

“Shares on the Philippine Stock Exchange kicked off August relatively flat ahead of the release of July inflation, while local factories managed to eke out output growth in July,” Globalinks Securities and Stocks, Inc. Head of Sales Trading Toby Allan C. Arce said in a Viber message.

“The Philippine central bank forecasts headline inflation to likely settle within the 4.1% to 4.9% range in July due to lower electricity rates, rollback in cooking gas prices, and a stronger peso,” Mr. Arce added.

The Philippine Statistics Authority will release July consumer price index (CPI) data on Friday, Aug. 4.

A BusinessWorld poll of 17 analysts yielded a median estimate of 4.9% for July inflation.

If realized, this would be below the 5.4% in June but would match the 4.9% seen in April last year.  However, this would mark the 16^th straight month that the CPI exceeded the central bank’s 2-4% target.

Meanwhile, manufacturing activity in the Philippines improved in July amid increased production and new orders, S&P Global said on Tuesday.

The S&P Global Philippines Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 51.9 in July from the 50.9 in June.

“The PSEi ended flattish as investors remain cautious… as improving optimism regarding global economic growth on the back of China’s potential turnaround and expectations of peaking interest rates was offset by inflationary concerns from sustained oil price uptrends and from unfavorable weather conditions posing upside risks to food prices domestically,” Unicapital Securities, Inc. Senior Equity Research Analyst Carlos Angelo O. Temporal said in a Viber message.

Most sectoral indices went up on Tuesday except for services, which declined by 28.52 points or 1.76% to 1,584.67, and financials, which dropped by 3.71 points or 0.19% to 1,936.88.

Meanwhile, mining and oil rose by 116.42 points or 1.12% to 10,480.73; industrials increased by 58.41 points or 0.63% to 9,235.14; property climbed by 8.69 points or 0.32% to 2,718.54; and holding firms jumped by 14.88 points or 0.23% to close Tuesday’s session at 6,343.87.

Value turnover declined to PHP 3.96 billion on Tuesday with 804.27 million shares changing hands from the PHP 20.07 billion with 1.95 billion issues seen on Monday.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 97 versus 75, while 53 names closed unchanged.

Net foreign selling stood at PHP 131.91 million on Tuesday versus the PHP 14.79 billion net buying seen on Monday. — A.H. Halili