PSEi inches up on late-session bargain hunting

The main index closed higher on Monday, supported by late-session bargain hunting as sentiment continued to be weighed down by the conflict between the United States and Iran.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) went up by 0.21% or 12.92 points to close at 6,251.38. Meanwhile, the broader all shares index slipped by 0.01% or 0.34 point to end at 3,434.89.

“The local market was down for the most part of the day as the latest exchange of threats between the US and Iran caused further concerns over the Strait of Hormuz. The US warned of heavier economic sanctions against Iran. Meanwhile, Iran warned of seizing ships that violate rules in the Strait. On the final minutes, bargain hunting took over, causing the market to have a positive close,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Manager Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.

“The local bourse ended higher after a cautious trading session, with investors remaining wary following news of an ‘economic D-Day for Iran.’ Strong buying interest emerged toward the close, pushing the market into positive territory. The late-session buying provided support despite prevailing uncertainty,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.

The PSEi opened Monday’s session at 6,294.02, up from Thursday’s close of 6,238.46. Its intraday low was at 6,211.88, while its high was at 6,295.54.

Pakistan’s army chief was visiting Tehran on a mediating mission on Monday as the United States prepared to roll out “the greatest financial offensive ever” targeting Iran’s trade partners, Reuters reported.

Iran dismissed the US threat, vowing to shut down all oil exports from the Gulf “if the economic war continues” and issued a new warning to shipping not to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without its permission.

The US and Iran have not conducted strikes against each other’s militaries for weeks, but their last official face-to-face talks to end the six-month-old conflict took place in June and strikes on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz have continued.

Sectoral indices closed mixed. Mining and oil climbed by 3.19% or 617.05 points to 19,964.25; services increased by 0.51% or 17.17 points to 3,380.29; and holding firms went up by 0.18% or 8.02 points to 4,482.53.

Meanwhile, industrial declined by 0.39% or 31.68 points to 8,156.26; financials dropped by 0.25% or 4.86 points to 1,937.15; and property edged down by 0.09% or 1.66 points to 1,903.07.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 108 to 83, while 65 names were unchanged.

“Emperador, Inc. was the day’s index leader, climbing 4.26% to PHP 15.66. Monde Nissin Corp. was the main index laggard, falling 3.66% to PHP 6.85,” Mr. Tantiangco said.

Value turnover decreased to PHP 4.97 billion on Monday with 1.25 billion shares traded from the P8.79 billion with 3.48 billion issues on Thursday. Net foreign selling dropped to PHP 82.3 million from PHP 555.34 million. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno