Stocks rebound as investors pick up bargains
THE BELLWETHER INDEX gained on Wednesday as investors hunted for bargains, shaking off losses recorded early this week following the US Federal Reserve’s move to raise interest rates for the first time in a year.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 0.41% or 27.70 points to end at 6,686.36 yesterday.
The broader all-shares index went up 0.33% or 13.59 points to 4,086.44.
“Philippine markets aligned with regional market as the country changed to bargain hunting mode after two straight days of sell-off,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan via text.
Victor F. Felix, equity analyst at AB Capital Securities, Inc., said in a phone interview that the local market tracked gains posted by US stocks on Tuesday, led by a rally in bank stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 91.56 points or 0.46% to 19,974.62 on Tuesday.
The PSEi has been on a steady decline since last week, with its losses deepening following the Fed decision to finally increase interest rates, while indicating three more hikes in 2017.
Subindices ended mixed yesterday. Services rose 1.54% or 19.41 points to 1,277.20; financials gained 1.16% or 18.82 points to 1,638.54; mining and oil climbed 0.67% or 80.53 points to 12,048.93; and holding firms edged up 0.33% or 22.58 points to 6,815.55.
On the other hand, property declined 0.23% or 7.11 points to 2,979.17 and industrial dropped by 0.18% or 19.75 points to 10,537.57.
Advancers trumped decliners, 109 to 49, while 48 issues remain unchanged.
Foreign investors continued to dump shares on Wednesday, although net selling dropped to P756.41 million from the P1.37 billion net outflow logged the previous session.
Value turnover amounted to P5.28 billion yesterday as 916.63 million shares changed hands, down from the P6.78 billion seen on Tuesday.
Most Southeast Asian stock markets also rose on Wednesday, taking cues from Wall Street’s record performance.
Emerging markets had been in a period of uncertainty for the past few weeks facing fund outflows as investors closely tracked the US central bank’s comments on economic policies after the election victory of Donald J. Trump.
Singapore’s benchmark index posted its biggest intraday percentage gain in a week, helped by banking and industrial stocks. DBS Group Holdings Ltd. rose 1%, while transport operator Comfortdelgro Corp Ltd. was up 1.20% after it agreed to acquire a 49% stake in a private bus business from Cabcharge Australia Ltd.
Vietnam shares rebounded from Tuesday’s losses as consumer staples and energy stocks took the spotlight. Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Co. rose as much as 0.40% after two sessions of losses, while Petrovietnam Gas Joint Stock Corp. was up as much as 2%.