Shares up on continued optimism after BSP move

STOCKS JUMPED on Tuesday as investors remained optimistic on the rate hike implemented by the central bank last week.

The 30- member Philippine Stock Exchange index ( PSEi) climbed 1.72% or 133.86 points to close at 7,885.97.

The broader all-shares index likewise increased 1.29% or 60.99 points to finish at 4,770.14.

“I guess it’s the investors cheering on the rate hike last week that’s keeping our market high... The recent move by the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, which a lot of people think was long overdue, lured back investors to buy our index stock at low prices,” Timson Securities, Inc. trader Jervin S. de Celis said on Tuesday.

Investors also reacted to the MSCI rebalancing announced overnight, which saw the addition of Ayala- led Integrated Microelectronics, Inc and Lucio C. Tan, Sr.’s MacroAsia Corp. into the MSCI Global Small Cap indices. Lopez Holdings, Inc. has been dropped from the index.

“We had a peaceful election, Sereno issue is over, and our market has really gone down significantly,” Regina Capital Development Corp. President Marita A. Limlingan said via text, citing the conclusion of former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno’s case after her removal from her post last week.

Four sectoral counters ended in positive territory, while two closed in the red. The property sector soared 4.79% or 177.13 points to close at 3,870.50. This was boosted by the 7.43% increase in shares of SM Prime Holdings, Inc. to P38.30 each.

Holding firms went up 1.35% or 104.72 points to 7,850.22, while services added 0.51% or 7.94 points to 1,553.86. Financials went up 0.50% or 9.81 points to 1,943.47.

Meanwhile, industrials dipped 0.02% or 3.10 points to 11,185.74, while mining and oil also shed 0.02% or 2.83 points to 10,191.34.

Investors started to come back to the market as value turnover reached P8.66 billion after some 995.80 million issues switched hands. This is higher than the average P5.8-billion turnover seen last week.

Advancers outpaced decliners, 110 to 91, while 47 issues were unchanged.

Foreign investors were net buyers for the second consecutive day, although net purchases dipped to P293.36 million from Friday’s P571.15 million.

Analysts had previously noted that foreign investors would have to come back to the market for the index to deliver an ascent in the coming months.

Overseas, markets ended mostly on a positive note. The Dow Jones Industrial Average picked up 0.27% or 68.24 points to 24,899.41. The S&P 500 index added 0.09% or 2.41 points to 2,730.13, while the Nasdaq Composite index went up 0.11% or 8.43 points to 7,411.31.

Asian indices ended lower on Tuesday after hearing soft Chinese economic data. Investors are also waiting for developments on trade talks between the United States and China. •