Shares rise on bargain hunting, net foreign buying

Philippine stocks rose on Monday on bargain hunting and as foreigners turned net buyers, but investors remained wary amid the worsening situation in the Middle East that has pushed up global oil prices to fresh highs.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) went up by 0.22% or 13.26 points to close at 6,075.07, while the broader all shares index increased by 0.15% or 5.12 points to end at 3,363.52.

“The local market edged higher on Monday, supported by bargain hunting following last week’s decline and easing foreign selling pressure. The market recorded modest net foreign buying, driven largely by inflows into heavyweight ICT,” COL Financial Group Research Analyst Denise Joaquin said in a Viber message, referring to International Container Terminal Services, Inc.’s ticker symbol. ICT shares gained PHP 5 or 0.51% to close at PHP 990 each.

“However, investors remained mostly on the sidelines amid a lack of fresh positive catalysts, with sentiment weighed by expected fuel price hikes due to ongoing Middle East tensions and continued peso weakness,” Ms. Joaquin said.

The peso slid to a new all-time low of PHP 62.86 a dollar on Monday.

“The local bourse edged higher after two consecutive sessions in the red as investors engaged in bargain hunting following the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) indication that it could begin easing monetary policy if inflation declines faster than expected,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.

“However, gains remained limited as the ongoing US-Iran conflict weighed on investor sentiment and encouraged more cautious positioning. Overall, market participants remained selective amid lingering geopolitical uncertainty and concerns over economic growth.”

The BSP said in its August Monetary Policy Report that its low-inflation scenario could create room for policy rate cuts to support economic growth. Under this scenario, inflation will move closer to its 3% target by the second quarter of next year. The BSP’s central projections show inflation could breach its target for three straight years at 6.1% this year, 5.4% in 2027, and 3.3% in 2028.

Most sectoral indices ended in green on Monday. Mining and oil rose 0.38% or 82.65 points to 21,576.14; services climbed 0.36% or 12.21 points to 3,400.46; financials went up 0.26% or 4.88 points to 1,867.64; holding firms rose by 0.26% or 10.96 points to 4,207.83; and property inched up by 0.11% or 1.98 points to 1,844.21.

Meanwhile, industrial dropped by 0.31% or 24.82 points to 7,874.88.

Advancers narrowly beat decliners, 96 to 95, while 66 names were unchanged.

Value turnover declined to PHP 5.7 billion on Monday with 914.69 million shares traded from the PHP 32.7 billion with 1.6 billion issues that changed hands on Friday.

Net foreign buying was at PHP 38.25 million versus the PHP 999.47 million in net selling in the previous session. — A.G.C. Magno