Stocks inch up on last-minute bargain hunting

Philippine shares eked out marginal gains on Tuesday as late-session bargain hunting offset investor concerns over renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) inched up by 0.05% or 2.90 points to close at 6,264.70 while the broader all shares index rose by 0.23% or 7.95 points to end at 3,440.82.

The PSEi opened Tuesday’s trading at 6,273.28, up from Monday’s close of 6,261.80. Its intraday high was at 6,296.39, while the session’s low stood at 6,201.38.

“For the most part of the day, the local market was down, weighed by the uncertainties in the Middle East as the ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran ended without an agreed upon extension. At the last minute, investors hunted for bargains, bringing the market to a positive close,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Manager Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.

“The PSEi initially opened the day on a sour note as the peso extended its weakness against the greenback. Sentiment was further weighed down by renewed geopolitical concerns after the 60-day US-Iran peace framework expired without a broader agreement, while tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz persisted and oil prices climbed. However, late-session buying helped the index recover its losses and close the day broadly flat,” COL Financial Group, Inc. Research Analyst Denise Joaquin said in a Viber message.

President Donald J. Trump said on Monday that Iran would not make the deal he thinks is needed to end a war with the US and should surrender as talks between the countries remained stalled, Reuters reported.

Asked whether the US was seeking to extend an interim deal with Iran, Mr. Trump said “no.”

The interim deal agreed to in June declared an “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts,” but quickly unraveled, with Mr. Trump saying it was “over” on July 7 and Iran’s foreign ministry declaring it “suspended” a week later.

Back home, most sectoral indices closed higher on Tuesday. Mining and oil rose by 1.58% or 293.67 points to 18,909.26; industrials increased by 0.78% or 64.31 points to 8,270.50; property went up by 0.43% or 8.21 points to 1,899.84; and services climbed by 0.03% or 1.17 points to 3,367.68.

Meanwhile, holding firms declined by 0.18% or 8.25 points to 4,477.02, and financials went down by 0.07% or 1.43 points to 1,957.56.

Decliners narrowly outnumbered advancers, 102 to 100, while 53 names were unchanged.

“Ayala Land, Inc. was the day’s index leader, climbing 2.9% to PHP 15.62. Jollibee Foods Corp. was the main index laggard, falling 2.82% to PHP 155,” Mr. Tantiangco said.

Value turnover increased to PHP 5.8 billion on Tuesday with 1.41 billion shares traded from the PHP 4.59 billion with 1.58 billion issues that changed hands on Monday.

Net foreign selling rose to PHP 403.64 million from PHP 222.44 million in the previous session. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno with Reuters