PH stocks return to 7,200 territory on bargain-hunting

The local stock barometer bounced to the 7,200 mark on Friday as investors hunted for bargains after the freefall in the last nine sessions.

Recovering from six-month lows as investors sifted through oversold stocks, the Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 66.46 points or 0.93 percent to close at 7,227.37, even as regional markets remained jittery over next week’s elections in the United States.

During the three-day trading week, the PSEi lost a total of 177.43 points or 2.4 percent, mostly due to investors’ anxiety over the tight presidential race between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump.

At the local market, all counters firmed up, led by holding firms, services and mining/oil counters, which all rose by over 1 percent.

Value turnover amounted to P7.73 billion.  There were 135 advancers that overwhelmed 54 decliners while 46 stocks were unchanged.

Despite the PSEi rebound, risk appetite among foreign investors remained low.

There was around P1 billion in net foreign selling for the day, suggesting that domestic investors drove the bargain-hunting activities.

GT Capital, AEV and Megaworld led the PSEi higher, all advancing by over 3 percent while Metrobank, PLDT and Security Bank rose by over 2 percent.

SM Prime, JG Summit, MPI and Jollibee gained over 1 percent.

Outside of PSEi stocks, the notable gainers included Bloomberry, which surged by 8.06 percent on improved prospects for the gaming industry following rekindled bilateral ties between the Philippines and China.

Newly listed oil firm Pilipinas Shell also gained 3.73 percent on its second day of trading while Manila Water rose by 3.33 percent.