PHL shares inch up as investors pick up bargains

PHILIPPINE SHARES inched up again on Wednesday as investors picked up bargains and as the peso’s strength versus the dollar provided some relief.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) went up by 0.38% or 23.34 points to end at 6,079.02, while the broader all shares index climbed by 0.2% or 7.19 points to 3,459.45.

“Our local market stood tall against the regional decline, but shed most of its intraday gains last minute, which was driven by the absence of a strong catalyst to bank on,” AP Securities, Inc. said in a market note.

“The Philippine market rose as market players took advantage of bargain prices following [Tuesday’s] decline. The peso’s appreciation against the US dollar also supported the market. Overall, these factors contributed to [Wednesday’s] positive trading session performance,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.

On Wednesday, the peso slipped by half a centavo to close at P58.725 versus the greenback from its P58.72 finish on Tuesday, which was a two-week high, Bankers Association of the Philippines data showed.

Meanwhile, global share markets drifted early on Wednesday after a mixed US jobs reading failed to move the needle on the rate outlook there, leaving investors awaiting fresh cues for their next moves, Reuters reported.

While jobs growth rebounded more than expected in November following its biggest drop in nearly five years in October, the unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, the highest in more than four years. But analysts said there was a lot of noise in the data, which was impacted by the government’s record 43-day shutdown.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.35%, while Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.28%.

Nasdaq futures and S&P 500 futures eased slightly, while Euro Stoxx 50 futures were down 0.05%. FTSE futures rose 0.1%.

Fed funds futures suggest markets are still pricing in roughly two US rate cuts next year, with the latest labor market reading doing little to shift expectations.

The next key data point for investors will be Thursday’s release of the US November inflation report.

Most sectoral indices closed in the green on Wednesday. Services rose by 0.99% or 23.79 points to 2,408.69; mining and oil increased by 0.57% or 82.20 points to 14,341.21; holding firms went up by 0.88% or 41.45 points to 4,753.68; industrials added 0.34% or 29.47 points to end at 8,697.74; and financials climbed by 0.25% or 5.20 points to 2,041.84. Meanwhile, property slumped by 1.3% or 30.16 points to 2,282.37.

Advancers outnumbered decliners, 97 to 88, while 59 names closed unchanged.

Value turnover went down to P5.99 billion on Wednesday with 1.56 billion shares traded from the P7.69 billion with 1.66 billion issues dealt on Tuesday.

Net foreign selling went up to P706.91 million from P399.92 million. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno with Reuters