PSEi gets boost from bargain-hunting

INVESTORS went bargain-hunting on Tuesday after the stock market fell the day before, but overall market sentiment remains cautious ahead of a new round of trade talks between the United States and China this week.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose 0.96 percent or 73.50 points to end at 7,756.72, while the wider All Shares climbed by 0.48 percent or 22.22 points to close at 4,688.39.

“Investors decided to slowly accumulate shares as investors waited for the US- China trade talks [that are] set to commence later this week,” Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said.

There has been a general feeling of positivity in recent weeks that a solution to the long-running tariffs saga involving Washington and Beijing can be found, providing some much- needed support to equities in the face of worsening economic data.

China’s top trade envoy Liu He is due to meet with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday.

But observers warn it is unlikely to smoothly progress, with reports this week saying China had cut back on the number of areas it is willing to discuss, suggesting that leaders sense weakness in the White House as Donald Trump faces impeachment proceedings and a slowing economy.

“The PSEi ended slightly above the 7,750 resistance level today. However, we may not see it hold this level for very long.…” AAA Equities head of research Christopher Mangun said. “The general sentiment remains very cautious, and until that changes, the market will not go higher.”

On Wall Streeet, the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq dipped by 0.36 percent, 0.45 percent and 0.33 percent, respectively.

In contrast, Asian markets rose, led by Seoul, which increased by 1.21 percent. Tokyo inched up 0.99 percent, Shanghai climbed 0.29 percent, Hong Kong was up 0.28 percent, Jakarta jumped 0.38 percent, Singapore rose 0.14 percent, Thailand climbed 0.11 percent and Vietnam added 0.52 percent.