Shares climb on bargain hunting, strong data

Philippine shares went up on Tuesday, tracking Wall Street’s climb, on bargain hunting and positive sentiment following strong data.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed by 18.92 points or 0.29% to 6,398.64 on Tuesday, while the broader all shares index rose by 10.87 points or 0.31% to 3,429.87.

“The local bourse gained by 18.92 points to 6,398.64, tracking the performance of the US markets overnight, driven by bargain hunting. Market sentiment was further boosted by the rise in PEZA (Philippine Economic Zone Authority) approved projects during the first half of 2023 compared to the same period last year,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Analyst Claire T. Alviar said in a Viber message.

Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan, likewise, said in a Viber message that local shares mirrored the rise of US equities.

Wall Street’s main indexes rose on Monday, recovering losses from last week, as investors looked ahead to a key inflation report and commentary from a slew of US Federal Reserve officials this week to gauge the central bank’s interest rate path, Reuters reported.

All eyes will be on US inflation data, expected on Wednesday, that will feed into the Fed’s interest rate decision later in the month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 209.52 points or 0.62% to 33,944.40; the S&P 500 gained 10.58 points or 0.24% at 4,409.53; and the Nasdaq Composite added 24.77 points or 0.18% at 13,685.48.

Traders still expect the US central bank to raise rates by 25 basis points later this month, but are divided on the rate hike trajectory for the rest of the year.

In three separate speeches on Monday, Fed policy makers including Michael Barr, Loretta Mester, and Mary Daly reiterated the need for more rate hikes.

Meanwhile, the PEZA approved PHP 80.59 billion worth of investments in the first six months, more than double the approvals in the same period in 2022, it said on Monday.

The PEZA said its board gave the green light for 102 economic zone developer-locator projects worth PHP 80.59 billion in the January-to-June period. This was 258% higher than the PHP 22.49 billion worth of projects approved in the same period in 2022.

All sectoral indices rose on Tuesday except for industrials, which lost 28.27 points or 0.31% to close at 9,067.52.

Meanwhile, property climbed by 32.04 points or 1.25% to 2,587.77; mining and oil jumped 38.17 points or 0.38% to 9,864.04; services went up by 5.91 points or 0.38% to 1,560.87; financials increased by 3.8 points or 0.2% to 1,829.98; and holding firms rose by 9.27 points or 0.14% to 6,305.48.

Value turnover went up to PHP 3.07 billion on Tuesday with 504.25 million shares changing hands from the PHP 2.82 billion with 332.82 million issues seen on Monday.

Advancers outnumbered decliners, 96 versus 87, while 41 names closed unchanged.

Net foreign buying stood at PHP 48.62 million on Tuesday versus the PHP 250.32 million in net selling seen on Monday. — AHH with Reuters