Stocks go up on bargain hunting after 2-day slide

Philippine shares rebounded slightly on Thursday as players picked up bargains following two days of losses, but the index stayed below the 6,000 mark as lingering uncertainties capped gains.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 0.7% or 41.70 points to close at 5,958.64, while the broader all shares index went up by 0.54% or 17.85 points to end at 3,318.11.

“The local market bounced back as investors hunted for bargains following two straight days of decline. Despite the market’s climb however, it was still unable to get back above the 6,000 level,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Manager Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.

“The local index closed higher as bargain hunting prevailed following the steep sell-down in the previous session. Investors took advantage of lower valuations after the recent decline. However, sentiment remained measured amid ongoing market uncertainties partnered with the Fed rate hike, limiting the market rebound,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.

The US Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday and flagged more hikes in the coming months, with new US central bank chief Kevin M. Warsh joining a unanimous decision that effectively acknowledges the Trump administration’s inability so far to control inflation that policymakers worry could worsen, Reuters reported.

While President Donald J. Trump had promised to lower prices on his watch, the combined impact of his global import tariffs, an energy shock following the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran, and capital spending from the artificial intelligence boom has kept price pressures intense enough that the Fed felt it needed to raise its benchmark overnight interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to the 3.75%-4% range.

Updated quarterly economic projections showed 16 of 18 policymakers anticipate at least one more quarter-percentage-point hike by the end of this year, with only two of them seeing rates remaining stable from here. All but one indicated they saw upside risks to inflation that they no longer described as largely arising from one-off supply shocks.

The rate increase was the first such move in three years and the first policy shift under the new Fed chief, who took office in late May after being selected by Mr. Trump with an expectation that he would cut rates.

Back home, four of the six sectoral indices closed higher on Thursday. Holding firms rose by 1.45% or 60.51 points to 4,241.02; services increased by 1.18% or 37.73 points to 3,245.98; industrial went up by 0.94% or 72.69 points to 7,846.56; and mining and oil climbed by 0.88% or 188.65 points to 21,506.19.

Meanwhile, financials dropped by 0.82% or 15.12 points to 1,830.39, and property went down by 0.25% or 4.54 points to 1,826.23.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 97 to 93, while 66 names were unchanged. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno with Reuters