Stocks buck regional downtrend

The local stock barometer firmed up above the 8,000 mark in thin trading after a long holiday break on Monday, the first trading day of the second quarter.

While regional markets erased early gains amid a brewing US-China trade war, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) added 59.62 points or 0.75 percent to close at 8,039.45.

Local stockbrokerage Papa Securities said it was looking forward to the release of the Philippine inflation data on Thursday, adding this would “definitely give clues on whether or not the Monetary Board will further be pressured to act in their next meeting in May given that they chose to stay put in their most recent one.”

Elsewhere in the region, trading was mostly firmer in the early session but most markets reversed gains at the close. All eyes are still on the wave of tariffs slapped by the US and China against imports from each other.

Domestic investors mostly supported the market as foreign investors were net sellers to the tune of P625.3 million.

At the local market, the index was led higher by the holding firm and mining/oil counters, which both advanced by more than 1 percent, while the industrial and property counters also gained.

The financial and services counters both slipped.