PSEi rebounds as market sentiment improves

Philippine shares rebounded on Tuesday as investors bought bargains and on optimism ahead of the corporate results season in the United States and positive remittances data at home.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) went up by 82.07 points or 1.32% to close at 6,280.90 on Tuesday, while the broader all shares index added 31.48 points or 0.93% to end at 3,391.38.

“The index rose on the back of bargain hunting and better risk sentiment. The index tracked most Asian markets higher as the US earnings season started on a positive note and China injected fresh liquidity into the financial system,” China Bank Capital Corp. Managing Director Juan Paolo E. Colet said in a Viber message.

“The market was able to fully recoup [Monday’s] losses as it saw a broad-based rally, which we attribute to optimism ahead of the third quarter earnings season and positive spillovers from the overnight rally in Wall Street. Moreover, foreigners turned net buyers today, which provided added boost to the rally,” China Bank Securities Corp. Research Associate Lance U. Soledad said in an e-mail on Tuesday.

Net foreign buying stood at PHP 276.42 million on Tuesday versus the PHP 369.15 million in net selling recorded on Monday.

Futures for Wall Street’s main indexes edged higher on Monday ahead of this week’s corporate earnings and economic data that could offer clues on the state of the US economy, while tensions over Israel-Hamas conflict kept gains in check, Reuters reported.

Results from large banks Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, electric automaker Tesla, and video-streaming pioneer Netflix are due this week.

Mr. Colet added that market sentiment improved following the release of improved remittances data on Monday.

Cash remittances coursed through banks rose by 2.7% to USD 2.79 billion in August from USD 2.72 billion in the same month in 2022, central bank data showed.

The August growth was the fastest in three months or since the 2.8% in May, but slower than 4.3% in August last year.

For the first eight months of 2023, cash remittances increased by 2.8% to USD 21.58 billion from USD 20.99 billion in the previous year.

The central bank expects remittances to rise by 3% this year.

Almost all sectoral indices rose on Tuesday. Property climbed by 47.94 points or 1.82% to 2,673.19; services went up by 24.54 points or 1.61% to 1,548.56; holding firms rose by 85.06 points or 1.45% to 5,939.32; industrials increased by 60.72 points or 0.69% to 8,826.52; and financials inched up by 8.44 points or 0.47% to 1,797.52.

Meanwhile, mining and oil fell by 107.02 points or 0.97% to 10,930.38.

Value turnover went up to PHP 5.69 billion on Tuesday with 1.25 billion shares changing hands from the PHP 3.76 billion with 815.38 million issues seen on Monday.

Advancers outnumbered decliners, 110 versus 78, while 45 shares closed unchanged. — SJT with Reuters