PH shares cheer Q2 GDP
Philippine shares cheered the second quarter economic gains with the Philippine Stock Exchange’s benchmark index PSEI trekking back to the 7,000 level on Thursday.
The PSEi climbed 154.17 points, or 2.25 percent to close at 7,022.09, while the wider all shares gained 74.93 points, or 1.91 percent to 4,006.37.
Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced on Thursday that the Philippine economy rebounded to 5.6 percent in the second quarter of the year,
Albeit below expectations, the growth put the Philippines as the third highest among Asia's major economies, behind China and Vietnam, defying a regional slowdown.
“Though the GDP was slightly below expectations, it is still a good number and because there were also some improvements seen in the global markets, investors were brave enough to enter the market looking forward for the second half,” First Grade Finance, Inc. managing director Astro Del Castillo said in a phone interview.
At the PSEI on Thursday, all sectoral indices also carved significant improvements, led by industrial, which ascent 277.94 points, or 2.63 percent to 10,863.03, and services, which rose 39.50 points, or 2.15 percent to 1,877.40.
Holding firms also soared 125.48 points, or 2.006 percent to 6,381.73, followed by property, which went up by 54.84 points, or 1.95 percent to 2,861.86. Next to them are financials, which gained by 28.90 points, or 1.91 percent to 1,543.11, and mining and oil, which added 184.15
points, or 1.77 percent to 10,582.25.
Market activity improved with total value turnover standing at 14.5 billion, as well as breadth after advancers outnumbered decliners, 139 to 45.
Some of the most actively traded stocks that had the most gains were BDO Unibank, Inc., Universal Robina Corp., SM Prime Holdings, Inc., Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., Alliance Global Group, Inc., and GT Capital Holdings, Inc.
Del Castillo said that moving forward, there’s a possibility that the market may consolidate further ahead of the National Heroes Day on Monday.
“Investors may play safe after two consecutive days of rebound so there might be a profit-taking,” he said.
The local stock market improved further during mid-week trade as investors, albeit cautious, bet on a possibly stronger second quarter GDP.
On Wednesday, PSEi sustained its recovering momentum with additional 37.58 points, or 0.55 percent to 6,867.92, as well as the wider all shares, which was up by 35.12 points, or 0.90 percent to 3,931.44.
“The rebound of the market is a welcome relief amidst the uncertainties in the global markets. The second quarter growth numbers highlight the resilience of the economy despite challenges abroad and we hope that investors continue to look at the Philippines as a viable investment,” PSE Chairman Jose T. Pardo said.
In a statement, the PSE reiterated that there were no issues encountered yesterday in the trading terminals. The Exchange halted trading on Monday and Tuesday as it observed data transmission issues in the front end terminals used by the brokers.
"The PSE has put in place fixes to the technical issues it encountered and we have seen trading operating normally. Rest assured, the Exchange continues to monitor the situation," PSE Chief Operating Officer Roel A. Refran said.
With the market disruptions early in the week, the Securities and Exchange Commission has asked information from the PSE on the technical incidents.
"We observe reporting procedures when these types of issues arise, including providing them incident reports as soon as possible. We have been in constant communication with the SEC and will provide them their information requests within the set timelines," Refran added.