PSEi retests 6,800

AP file Photo/Aaron Favila

The local stock barometer inched up to the 6,800 level on Tuesday as a regional upswing prevailed over initial jitters on the higher-than-expected Philippine inflation data for November.

Reversing losses in early trade, the main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 29.73 points or 0.44 percent to close at 6,806.14 on selective buying of large-cap stocks.

The day’s rebound was led by the property counter, which rose by 1.42 percent while holding firms also gained.

On the other hand, the financial, industrial, services and mining/oil counters all declined.

Luis Gerardo Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital Development, said local shares were driven higher by the upbeat sentiment in the US that in turn spilled over the regional markets. All
US stock indexes came close to record high levels for the year as “the solid economic data clearly offset concerns about neighbor Europe’s stability – following the rejection vote of Italy to reform existing constitutional rules,” he said.

In addition, Limlingan noted that oil futures ended at a one-year high as industry continued to wrestle with the details surrounding the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)’s historic agreement to cut production.

“Locally, investor digested the latest inflation number, though which was a mild spike from analysts’ estimates, also indicated that consumer demand seems to be outweighing supply,” Limlingan said.

Japanese investment bank Nomura noted that at 2.5 percent year-on-year in November, the Philippine inflation rate had surprised on the upside. Consensus forecast was only at 2.2 percent while the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ own forecast range was at 1.6-2.4 percent.

The pick-up was driven mainly by utilities and transport while core inflation also edged higher, in part underscoring the continued strength of domestic demand, Nomura said.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P5.78 billion. Despite the PSEi’s gain, market breadth was negative as there were more decliners (112) than gainers (68).

The PSEi was lifted by property giant ALI, which gained 3.46 percent while conglomerate GT Capital also rose by 2.39 percent.

SM Prime and parent conglomerate SMIC also gained over 1 percent each while Security Bank, PLDT, Globe and EDC all firmed up.

On the other hand, Jollibee fell by 2.26 percent while URC, LTG and Megaworld all declined by over 1 percent. AC, BDO, MPI, Metrobank and DMCI also slipped.

Outside the PSEi, one notable decliner was property developer DoubleDragon which slid by 10.45 percent amid the company’s ongoing bond offering. The company has launched a 10-year retail bonds with a base offering of P5 billion and an oversubscription of up to P5 billion. Bulk of the proceeds will be used to finance the construction of projects that will generate recurring revenues for DoubleDragon: CityMalls, DD Meridian Park and Jollibee Tower.