Shares rise on remittance data, bargain hunting

Philippine stocks rebounded on Monday on higher cash remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and as investors picked up bargains.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed by 0.45% or 30.97 points to close at 6,853.29 on Monday, while the broader all shares index rose by 0.29% or 10.43 points to end at 3,570.89.

“After the steep decline last Friday, the local bourse went up by 30.97 points (0.45%) to 6,853.29 as investors sought bargains. The growth of overseas Filipinos’ cash remittances by 2.7% year on year in January, provided optimism as well,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Analyst Claire T. Alviar said in a Viber message.

Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed cash remittances of OFWs coursed through banks increased by 2.7% to USD 2.836 billion in January from USD 2.762 billion in the same month last year.   

Month on month, the growth in cash remittances slowed to 2.7% from 3.8% in December. It was also the slowest pace of remittance growth since 2.6% posted in September.

The BSP expects OFW cash remittances to grow by 3% this year and next.

“Meanwhile, investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting this week,” Ms. Alviar added.

The Fed will meet to discuss policy on March 19-20. Markets widely expect the US central bank to keep its target rate unchanged at 5.25-5.5% for a fifth straight meeting.

“Philippine investors brushed off the latest FTSE rebalancing last week as attention will focus on more US economic data. These include building permits, expected to come in at 1.5 million on Tuesday, and the interest rate announcement on Wednesday, with an anticipated rate of 5.5%,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.

“The US Federal Reserve is likely to maintain the current interest rates, but there’s speculation about potential rate cuts starting in the second quarter of the year,” he added.

Back home, majority of sectoral indices closed higher, led by financials, which went up by 2.95% or 58.62 points to 2,043.49. Property increased by 0.63% or 17.51 points to 2,771.46; mining and oil went up by 0.27% or 22.45 points to 8,219.63; and industrials climbed by 0.12% or 11.39 points to 8,853.58.

Meanwhile, services declined by 1.05% or 19.33 points to 1,813.40 and holding firms fell by 0.4% or 26.21 points to 6,517.33.

“Among the index members, Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company gained the most by 6.83%, while LT Group, Inc. plunged the most by 6.31%,” Ms. Alviar said.

Value turnover fell to PHP 6.3 billion on Monday with 2.21 billion issues switching hands from the PHP 20.08 billion with 1.59 billion shares seen on Friday.

Advancers beat decliners, 101 against 97, while 39 names closed unchanged. Net foreign selling declined to PHP 23.73 million on Monday from P4.3 billion on Friday. — R.M.D. Ochave