MANILA, Philippines—The local stock barometer rebounded for the second straight session on Tuesday on the back of selective buying.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index added 10.5 points or 0.15 percent to close at 7,068.03.
Most counters were up except for the property counter, which fell by 1.22 percent as investors weighed the impact of a new central bank regulation lowering the loanable value of real estate used as collateral to 60 percent from 80-90 percent at present.
There were 89 advancers, which only slightly edged out 87 decliners while 46 stocks were unchanged.
Traders work at the Philippine Stock Exchange. AFP
The PSEi was led higher by Bloomberry, which surged by 3.58 percent ahead of the opening of its expansion program.
PLDT, the most actively traded stock, also helped perk up the index with its 1.13 percent rise.
EDC, GTCAP and Globe all advanced by over 1 percent while BDO, Petron, Metrobank, URC, JG Summit, SM Prime and SMIC also contributed to the day’s gains.
Outside of the PSEi stocks, Security Bank and RRHI rose by over 2 percent.
On the other hand, ALI slumped by 3.17 percent while AGI, Megaworld and FGEN also declined.
Local stock brokerage DA Market Securities said the recent market action marked a positive test of the 7,000 support level, which has been seen crucial for setting the stage for a quick resumption of the uptrend.
“A successful hold above the level amid volatile market conditions will put the 7400 levels still within this year’s range,” DA Market said.
“As we are currently dealing with volatile world markets, subsequent positive trading activity will confirm the market’s break through the 7000 resistance,” it said.