Stocks up on bargain hunting after five-day slide

Philippine stocks inched up on Thursday as investors picked up bargains following the market’s five-day slide.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) increased by 0.39% or 23.99 points to close at 6,106.92, while the broader all shares index rose by 0.39% or 14.30 points to end at 3,677.92.

“The local market saw a technical bounce this Thursday backed by bargain hunting after five straight days of decline. Trading was still lethargic, however, with net value turnover at PHP 4.74 billion, below the year-to-date average of P5.97 billion. This reflects weak confidence towards the market amid lingering headwinds,” Philstocks Financial Inc. Research Manager Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.

Value turnover declined to PHP 4.81 billion on Thursday with 1.06 billion shares traded from the PHP 5.37 billion with 705.16 million shares that changed hands on Wednesday.

“The market saw a slight relief as investors engaged in bargain hunting, taking advantage of cheaper stock prices,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan likewise said in a Viber message.

“US equities showed signs of stabilizing as a tech sector rebound helped curb recent losses. A less-than-stellar jobs report is bolstering the case for future interest rate cuts, which has also provided a measure of support for investor sentiment,” he added.

Wall Street stocks recovered some ground on Wednesday after technology conglomerate Alphabet rose on a favorable antitrust ruling, but gains were muted as investors digested softer-than-expected labor market data and a selloff in long-term global government bonds, Reuters reported.

Job openings, a measure of labor demand, dropped 176,000 to 7.181 million by the last day of July, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its “JOLTS” report. With the Fed focused on employment, Friday’s crucial jobs report will help set expectations for the central bank’s next few policy meetings.

Traders are pricing in a near-100% chance of the Fed cutting interest rates later this month, up from 89% a week ago, CME FedWatch showed. They are also pricing in 139 basis points of easing by the end of next year.

All sectoral indices closed in the green on Thursday. Property went up by 1.08% or 26.11 points to 2,444.33; mining and oil climbed by 1.07% or 116.59 points to 10,928.22; services rose by 0.78% or 16.82 points to 2,171.49; financials increased by 0.27% or 5.57 points to 2,051.38; holding firms inched up by 0.1% or 5.27 points to 5,067.28; and industrials added 0.05% or 5.33 points to end at 8,988.14.

Advancers beat decliners, 111 to 88, while 53 names were unchanged.

Net foreign selling dropped to PHP 237.92 million on Thursday from PHP 921.7 million on Wednesday.

Mr. Limlingan said the Philippine August inflation data to be released on Friday, Sept. 5, will be a key trading driver for the market. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno with Reuters