PSEi rises; inflation data awaited

THE stock market rebounded on Tuesday with some investors said to be taking positions ahead of today’s release of August inflation data.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) grew by 0.63 percent or 49.60 points to close at 7,881.82 while the wider All Shares rose 0.50 percent or 23.69 points to end at 4,795.86.

Timson Securities, Inc. trader Jervin de Celis said the PSEi’s close was “a bit surprising,” given expectations that inflation likely hit a new nine-year high last month following July’s 5.7 percent.

“Local participants might

be trying to find or cement a support at least above 7,800, even in the absence of fresh local catalysts,” he noted.

The Philippine Statistics Authority will release data for August this morning. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has a 5.56.2 percent forecast while the Department of Finance expects an uptick to 5.9 percent.

DA Market Securities, Inc. chief equity strategist Nisha Alicer, who said investors remained on the sidelines while waiting for August inflation data, said a result “higher than the 5.9 percent estimate would give the market a cause for a pause or a pullback.”

“Technically, a consolidation would be good for a better attempt at 8,000 to 8,200,” she added.

Above-target inflation since March has prompted the BSP’s policymaking Monetary Board to order policy rate hikes totaling 100 basis points beginning May. With consumer price growth expected to breach the BSP’s 2.0-4.0 percent goal this year, analysts expect at least one more rate hike before the end of the year.

The PSEI’s rise mirrored most Asian markets that also rebounded from recent losses amid a lack of catalysts from Wall Street, which was closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday.

Investors were said to have moved cautiously as they awaited developments in the United States’ trade

consolidated retained earnings to P1.493 billion from P896.388 million as of Dec. 31, 2017.

The company said the latter