Shares inch up on bargain hunting, trade data

PHILIPPINE SHARES edged higher on Tuesday on bargain hunting and as the country’s trade deficit narrowed in August.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index went up by 11.91 points or 0.19% to end at 6,264.07 on Tuesday, while the broader all shares index rose by 6.22 points or 0.18% to 3,386.27.

“Stocks staged a modest rebound as investors engaged in bargain-hunting. This effectively countered the prevailing bearish sentiments linked to the Israel conflict,” AB Capital Securities, Inc. Vice-President Jovis L. Vistan said in a Viber message.

Investor sentiment was “boosted by the narrower trade deficit recorded in August,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Analyst Claire T. Alviar said in a Viber message.

“Many investors, however, remained on the sidelines, with the net market value turnover posting at P4.17 billion,” Ms. Alviar said.

Value turnover went down to P4.54 billion on Tuesday with 688.96 million shares changing hands from the P5.71 billion with 771.49 million shares seen on Monday.

The Philippines’ trade-in-goods deficit shrank by 31.5% in August to $4.13 billion from the $6.03-billion gap in the same period last year, preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority released on Tuesday showed.

The value of merchandise exports rose by 4.2% year on year to $6.70 billion in August.

Meanwhile, the value of imported goods declined by 13.1% year on year to $10.83 billion.

On the other hand, global stocks snapped higher on Tuesday, in line with a retreat in bond yields after US Federal Reserve officials signaled the recent yield surge could justify caution on interest rates, while oil eased, but violence in the Middle East made for nervy trading, Reuters reported.

The MSCI All-World index rose for a fifth day, up 0.5%, after having hit five-month lows last week, thanks in part to a 1.4% rise in Europe’s STOXX 600.

But investors were closely watching military clashes between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, after the latter unleashed a surprise assault at the weekend in which hundreds were killed and many abducted.

The Israeli military has since said it called up an unprecedented 300,000 reservists and was imposing a total blockade on the Gaza Strip, raising expectations of a possible ground assault.

At home, the majority of the sectoral indices rose on Tuesday. Mining and oil climbed by 133.42 points or 1.21% to 11,074.08; property went up by 15.08 points or 0.58% to 2,616.11; financials increased by 10.12 points or 0.55% to 1,818.99; and services gained 7.96 points or 0.52% to end at 1,520.11.

Meanwhile, holdings firms fell by 25.02 points or 0.42% to 5,934.34 and industrials declined by 3.71 points or 0.04% to 8,907.88.

Advancers outnumbered decliners, 96 versus 77, while 50 shares closed unchanged.

Net foreign selling went down to P275.32 million on Tuesday from P2.98 billion on Monday. — SJT with Reuters