PHL shares end flat as investors pick up bargains

SHARES opened the week on a flattish note as investors went bargain hunting, while some were still reeling from last week’s news, particularly the faster-than-expected inflation print and the US’ threat of more tariffs on Chinese products.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (Psei) slipped by 0.03% or 2.49 points on Monday to close the session at 7,596.15.

The broader all-shares index also lost 0.33% or 15.71 points to end at 4,640.71.

“Philippine shares began the Monday morning with another hit carrying over from last week after President Donald Trump said the US had tariffs ready to go on another $267 billion in Chinese goods, on top of tariffs on $200 billion widely expected to happen,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message on Monday.

Amid such news, US stocks closed lower Friday to retreat for the week, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq declining for a fourth straight session.

“This was on top of overhanging concerns with respect to inflation which keep investors wary as may impede the growth numbers moving forward,” Mr. Limlingan added.

The index went below the 7,500 mark intraday, hitting a low of 7,466.27 for the session.

The analyst however noted that the afternoon session saw investors turning to bargain hunting for selected names that were oversold.

“There may have been some anticipation as it was also announced that President [Rodrigo R.] Duterte plans to address the nation [on Tuesday],” Mr. Limlingan said.

“The blue chip stocks have been oversold and I think that was just taken by some investors as a chance to buy at lower prices,” Timson Securities, Inc. trader Jervin S. de Celis said in a mobile message yesterday.

“While the Psei remains one of the most expensive indices in Asia, the sell-off due to the inflation data last week and trade rift between the US and China is a bit overdone so market participants bought up the index stocks to finish flat today,” Mr. De Celis said on Monday.

Sectoral indices were divided yesterday. Financials slid 0.62% or 10.64 points to 1,705.77; services fell 0.52% or 8.05 points to 1,517.69; and property lost 0.25% or 9.40 points to close at 3,742.83.

Meanwhile, mining and oil climbed 0.69% or 66.26 points to finish at 9,659.89; industrials went up 0.67% or 75.62 points to 11,319.03; and holding firms added 0.22% or 16.83 points to 7,532.53.

Value turnover amounted to P7.40 billion as 1.44 billion shares changed hands, higher than Friday’s P6.29-billion worth of stocks.

Decliners trumped advancers, 124 to 62, while 55 names were unchanged.

Continuing from last week’s sell-off, net foreign outflows on Monday totalled P852.58 million, although declining from Friday’s net sales worth P1.42 billion.