Stocks extend climb on Wall St., bargain hunting

LOCAL SHARES continued their recovery on Wednesday, tracking the upswing seen in international markets, complemented by bargain hunting of oversold stocks.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) jumped 1.61% or 112.66 points to 7,099.68 yesterday, propelling the main index back to the 7,000 level. The broader all-shares index likewise climbed 1.22% or 52.57 points to 4,342.28.

“I think the index was also tracking the global stocks performance driven by optimism of strong corporate earnings,” IB Gimenez Securities, Inc. Research Head Joylin F. Telagen said in a text message.

Wall Street indices soared overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 2.17% or 547.87 points to 25,798.42. The S&P 500 index edged higher by 2.15% or 59.13 points to 2,809.92, while the Nasdaq Composite index rallied 2.89% or 214.75 points to 7,645.49.

Analysts attributed the rise of global stocks from the solid earnings reports of companies like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, as well as an uptick in tech shares.

Most Asian indices also went up, lifted by Wall Street’s strong performance.

“Aside from that, some investors bought back selected oversold stocks ahead of the thirdquarter earnings results,” IB Gimenez Securities’ Ms. Telagen added.

Eagle Equities, Inc. President Joseph Y. Roxas noted the same, saying in a separate text that investors felt “maybe the worst is over for inflation that the selling has been overdone.”

The main index closed to as low as 6,884.38 in the previous week, as investors turned a cautious eye on the slower-thanexpected growth of the Philippine economy, in addition to rising tensions in the trade war between the United States and China.

Overall sentiment was also down due to tensions between the US and Saudi Arabia amid the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which some analysts anticipated could affect oil prices.

At home, all sectoral indices climbed back to positive territory. Mining and oil soared 2.74% or 243.56 points to 9,131.61, followed by financials which surged 2.72% or 42.51 points to 1,601.21. Industrials gained 2.69% or 284.42 points to 10,831.73; property firmed up 1.39% or 48.95 points to 3,547.86; holding firms rose 0.86% or 58.23 points to 6,800.57; and services went up 0.46% or 6.85 points to 1,484.56.

Some 527.59 million issues valued at P5.74 billion switched hands, rising from Tuesday’s P4.75-billion turnover.

Advancers were more than double the decliners, 129 to 57, while 46 names closed unchanged.

Net foreign outflows also more than doubled on Wednesday, swelling to P633.66 million from the P223.54 million posted in the previous session.

Papa Securities Corp. trader Gabriel Jose F. Perez placed the PSEi’s initial resistance from 7,130 to 7,140. •