PSEi finishes flat as investors assess devts

THE stock market ended flat on Wednesday as investors digest the latest manufacturing data and keep an eye on fresh developments in the coronavirus disease 2019 crisis in the country and overseas.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index ( PSEi) inched up by 0.03 percent or 1.99 points to finish at 6,209.71, while the broader All Shares added 0.15 percent or 5.58 points to close at 3,650.75.

“The market rebounded on close transaction [as] value turnover reached P15 billion. Adding to this [ is the] P6- billion [ inflows] of foreign funds, which we think is brought by month-end window dressing,” Philstocks Financial Inc. research associate Piper Chaucer Tan said.

Total volume turnover stood at 1.45 billion shares, valued at P15.66 billion, while net foreign buying reached P6.24 billion on Wednesday.

Tan also said the country’s Purchasing Managers Index ( PMI) climbing to 49.7 in June did not have a significant effect on the bourse, as investors still expect a below-50 reading.

He noted, however, that investors were somehow comforted by the fact the National Capital Region remained under general community quarantine.

Market movement still relies on developments in the Covid-19 pandemic, and on corporate earnings in the second quarter and first half of the year, according to Tan.

AAA Equities Research Head Christopher Mangun said the PSEi barely moved as “trading volumes in blue chip issues dwindled lower.”

Asian markets were mixed as investors continue to assess the situation, he added.

Shanghai rose by 1.38 percent, Hong Kong gained 0.52 percent,

Jakarta inched up by 0.18 percent, Singapore jumped by 0.78 percent, Bangkok climbed 0.67 percent and Ho Chi Minh added 2.23 percent. Tokyo shed 0.75 percent and Seoul slid by 0.08 percent.

“Most had expected a strong economic rebound in the second half of the year, but increasing [ number of] coronavirus cases in the US, the world’s largest economy, has investors wondering if better days are ahead,” Mangun said.

In Manila, most sectors closed in the green, with industrial leading at 1.45 percent. Holding firms and services lost 0.62 percent and 0.45 percent, respectively.

Losers outpaced winners, 98 to 95, while 47 securities were unchanged.

Sizable drop

Also on Wednesday, the PSE reported that the main index lost 20.6 percent in the first half of 2020. But quarter- on- quarter, it rose by 16.7 percent and improved by 34.3 percent from 4,623.42, its lowest closing level for the year.

All sectors recorded doubledigit losses in the January- toJune period, ranging from 15 to 35.6 percent, while the services sector declined by 8.3 percent.

Daily average trading value turnover plunged by 15.9 percent to P6.59 billion from P7.84 billion year-on-year.

Net foreign selling hit P68.44 billion, reversing the P21.26 billion in net foreign buying last year.

Capital raised during the first six months reached P20.83 billion, which came from one initial public offering, one follow- on offering, one stock rights offering and two private placements.