Stocks jump 2% on bargain hunting after slump

Philippine shares rebounded sharply on Tuesday as bargain hunting following the previous session’s sell-off lifted the market despite the peso’s plunge to another record low against the dollar.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) surged by 2.13% or 120.01 points to close at 5,761.19 while the broader all shares index went up by 1.67% or 52.84 points to 3,213.96.

This was the bellwether’s best one-day performance in nearly two months or since Sept. 1, when it jumped by 137.56 points or 2.31% to close at 6,093.89.

COL Financial Group, Inc. Research Analyst Denise Joaquin said the local market gained on Tuesday as investors bought shares following Monday’s sharp drop, while WisdomTree’s annual emerging markets index rebalancing contributed to volatility near the close.

“Sentiment was supported by higher US equities overnight, even as the peso notched another record low nearing the P64:$1 level,” she said in a Viber message.

The peso closed at a new all-time low of PHP 64.17 against the dollar on Tuesday, down by 22 centavos from its previous record low of PHP 63.95 on Monday, Bankers Association of the Philippines data showed.

The currency also hit an intraday low of PHP 64.20 on Tuesday, which is now the weakest level it has ever touched against the greenback.

“The local market rose as investors hunted for bargains following a three-day decline. Positive cues from Wall Street also helped in today’s rally,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Manager Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.

On Wall Street, major indexes climbed on tech strength after Anthropic’s initial public offering filing, Reuters reported. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 146.42 points or 0.28% to 52,361.58; the S&P 500 gained 53.09 points or 0.7% to 7,676.77; and the Nasdaq Composite gained 214.04 points or 0.83% to 26,169.38.

He added that optimism over easing tensions in the Middle East following discussions involving Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan, and Iran lifted sentiment.

All sector counters closed higher on Tuesday. Financials jumped by 3.28% or 57.98 points to 1,825.02; holding firms increased by 2.87% or 119.55 points to 4,278.35; mining and oil went up by 2.03% or 368.34 points to 18,508.74; industrial rose by 2.03% or 147.69 points to 7,409.39; property advanced by 0.93% or 16.62 points to 1,806.38; and services climbed by 0.9% or 26.85 points to 3,000.90.

Advancers outnumbered decliners, 104 to 66, while 76 names closed unchanged.

Value turnover increased to PHP 9.52 billion on Tuesday with 1.12 billion shares traded from the PHP 5.91 billion with 38.27 billion issues that changed hands on Monday.

Net foreign buying was at PHP 509.91 million, a turnaround from the PHP 45.06 million in net selling recorded in the previous session. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno