PHL stocks climb as trade war fears overseas ease

LOCAL EQUITIES climbed on Tuesday, tracking the positive finishes of its global counterparts.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index ( PSEi) firmed up 0.64% or 46.67 points to 7,233.29 yesterday, while also slightly recovering from a thin value turnover in the previous session.

The broader all-shares index likewise gained 0.64% or 28.14 points to 4,413.44.

“Positive momentum from strength in the US markets last night helped prop up the local index today... The Dow Jones notably gained 320 points [ on Monday] to close above its 50-day moving average for the first time in a few weeks (a positive sign in technical analysis) on the back of strong economic data amid trade war fears,” Papa Securities Corp. trader Gabriel Jose F. Perez said in an e-mail.

Wall Street rallied on Monday, lifted by the financial and services sectors after the release of strong economic data, allaying fears of the rising trade war between the United States and China.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 1.31% or 320.11 points to 24,776.59, while the S&P 500 index rose 0.88% or 24.35 points to 2,784.17. The Nasdaq Composite index also posted an uptick of 0.88% or 67.81 points to 7,756.20.

Most Southeast Asian stock markets also climbed on Tuesday, with Singapore and Indonesia extending their rally, as US stocks gained overnight on hopes of strong corporate earnings, boosting positive sentiment across Asia.

“Global markets seemed to react better as we head into the first effective week of US-China trade tariffs. However, headlines of China tying new strings and opening up more cooperation globally might smoothen concerns for China imports/exports issues,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile message.

Back home, all sectors ended in positive territory, led by financials which jumped 1.23% or 21.95 points to 1,795.96. Industrials went up 0.66% or 68.45 points to 10,299.50; services rose 0.52% or 7.34 points to 1,419.08; mining and oil added 0.44% or 42.75 points to 9,603.02; holding firms ended 0.39% or 27.48 points higher to 7,078.34; while property inched up 0.1% or 3.6 points to 3,556.73.

Some 697 million issues valued at P5.06 billion switched hands, much higher than the P3.38-billion turnover seen in the previous session.

Advancers outpaced decliners, 113 to 73, while 54 issues were unchanged. Eleven of the 20 most actively traded stocks rose on Tuesday, led by Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., which added 1.4% to P68.80 each, and Ayala Corp., gaining 2.04% to P924 apiece.

Foreign investors remained in a net selling position, albeit thinner at P509 million compared to Monday’s P730-million net foreign outflows.

“Should the PSEi experience further upside [today], we look to its recent high of 7,348 as its initial resistance,” Papa Securities’ Mr. Perez said. •