PSEi hits new high, gaming stocks tumble on China crackdown

A trader looks at the electronic board at the Philippine stock exchange.   AFP

MANILA, Philippines–The local stock barometer climbed to its 10th record finish on Monday as investors who dumped gaming stocks amid China’s intensified crackdown on high-rollers scouted for investment alternatives.
The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 54.39 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 7,782.57, defying mostly sluggish regional markets. A new intra-day high of 7,786.78 was also conquered.
“Investor confidence in our local market remains strong as shown by the continuous market rally despite the downward trend in the region. Expectations of positive listed company annual income results and untouched key policy rates (by the local central bank) in coming days fuel the upbeat market performance. Given this favorable backdrop, we hope that the new levels reached would become the springboard for a more resilient market even as global uncertainties persist,” PSE president Hans Sicat said in a press statement.
Dealers said there was likewise some positioning ahead of the next MSCI rebalancing.
The day’s upswing was led by the industrial sector, which rose by 2.3 percent. The holding firm and property countries also firmed up while the services and mining/oil counters weakened.
Value turnover for the day amounted to P7.59 billion.
Despite the rise of the main index, market breadth was negative as there were twice as much decliners (121) than advancers (52) for the day.
The day’s gain was led by URC (+6.16 percent), Meralco (+3.17 percent), SMIC (+2.61 percent), JG summit (+1.85 percent) and GTCAP (+1.02 percent) while BDO, PLDT, MPI, Megaworld and ALI also contributed to the day’s gains.
On the other hand, gaming-related stocks fell sharply on news that China would henceforth constrain foreign casinos from marketing their gaming resorts to gamblers from mainland China.
Bloomberry slid by 11.64 percent and Melco Crown by 10.19 percent. Another gaming play PLC also slipped by 8.24 percent while AGI likewise tumbled by 3.04 percent.
“Our trend bias this week is slightly bearish because the index really needs pullbacks to sustain its trend and avoid very sharp corrections. Due to this,we recommend a hold on positions and wait for pullbacks near/at 20-day MA (moving average) support before accumulating again. Volatility readings remain high so we could be seeing 80-point advances/declines during intraday trades,” said Luis Gerardo Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital Development Corp.

Since the start of the year, the PSEi has advanced by 7.6 percent or 552 points.