Bargain hunting props up share prices

The stock market returned to its winning ways yesterday as investors gobbled up bargains.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index climbed by 0.11 percent or 7.35 points to end at 6,879.59.

The broader All Shares index likewise finished the session on a positive note, gaining 0.16 percent or 5.59 points to close at 3,580.31.

Claire Alviar of Philstocks Financial said the local bourse inched up as investors hunted for bargains.

Alviar said many also cheered the December 2023 foreign direct investment figures after posting a 29.9 percent year-on-year surge in net inflows.

“Still, the market closed with trimmed gains, implying that investors are being cautious ahead of the US inflation data,” she said.

Most sectors were up, led by services which jumped by 2.04 percent.

Financial and industrial were the only sectors in the red, declining by 1.08 percent and 0.07 percent, respectively.

Overall, market breadth was positive as advancers crushed decliners, 109 to 72, while 54 issues did not change.

Alviar said yesterday’s net market value turnover of P5.01 billion was higher than the year-to-date average of P4.69 billion, with foreigners as net buyers with net inflows amounting to P348.86 million.

PLDT was yesterday’s biggest winner among index members with a 6.3 percent increase, while Wilcon Depot was at the bottom with a 4.06 percent drop.

Equity markets mostly rose yesterday following the previous day’s sell-off, with focus on the release of US inflation data that could play a key role in the Federal Reserve’s decision-making on cutting interest rates.