PSEi firms up above 7,700

THE LOCAL stock barometer snapped out of a two-day pullback to firm up above 7,700 on Monday on selective buying of large-cap stocks.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 43.35 points or 0.56 percent to close at 7,773.92, reversing losses in morning trade. Across the region, Asian stocks were mostly higher following China’s interest rate cut over the weekend.

Most of the sub-indices gained, led by the mining/oil and property counters. Only the services counter was in the red.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P8.25 billion. There were 98 advancers that beat 67 decliners while 56 stocks were unchanged.

ALI and Semirara led the day’s gainers, both rising by over 2 percent while SMIC, Metrobank, Megaworld, Ayala Corp. and FGEN all advanced by over 1 percent. MPI and EDC also contributed gains.

On the other hand, PLDT – the day’s most actively traded stock – fell by 1.96 percent after breaking a key support level ahead of the release of its full-year 2014 earnings. AGI also tumbled by 2.1 percent. Jollibee also fell by 1.27 percent. BDO and URC also ended lower.

In a research note, DA Market Securities said amid uncharted territory, next major resistance is pegged at the low end of 2015 target range of 8,000 and 8,500 while initial major support is at 7,485. It said technical indicators were pointing to overbought levels.

“Short-term investors may take profit as stocks reach targets or overbought territory, ahead of a post-earnings period that may be characterized by a lack of leads. Individual stocks picks can present opportunities amid rotational nature of the market,” DA Market said.