Market gains on foreign buying

The local stock barometer yesterday rallied to the 7,800 mark, outperforming regional markets, as foreign fund managers picked up large-cap stocks.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 171.77 points, or 2.25 percent to close at 7,804.03 in line with mostly firm regional markets.

“This is due to the resurgence of foreign buying,” said Manny Cruz, chief strategist at local stock brokerage Asiasec Equities. “But I think it’s technical in nature because the interplay now in the market is still a consolidation process between 7,500 and 7,900 in the near term.”

Cruz said with some foreign money trickling back to the local market, there’s momentum to test the 7,900 levels. He added that an upcoming MSCI rebalancing by the end of the month and the anticipation of the Philippines’ inflation rate for August could result in some selling pressure. Inflation and the weaker peso against the dollar remained key concerns of investors, he said.

The PSEi was led higher by the holding firm and property counters, which advanced by 2.03 percent and 2.85 percent, respectively.

The financial and services counters gained about 2 percent while the industrial counter added over 1 percent.

Only the mining/oil counter slipped (0.23 percent).

Value turnover for the day amounted to P7.97 billion.

There were 130 advancers that edged out 69 decliners, while 50 stocks were unchanged.

San Miguel Corp. led the PSEi higher, surging by 8.62 percent as investors anticipated that the conglomerate would be able to unlock higher valuation from its flagship subsidiary San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc. (SMFB). A filing in the Securities and Exchange Commission suggested a landmark equity deal of as much as P142 billion for SMFB, giving it a market capitalization of up to $15 billion.

SMFB also advanced by 15.13 percent to close at P92.10 per share yesterday. The secondary share sale planned by its parent suggests a maximum offer price of P140 per share.

Investors also bought up shares of AGI, Metro Pacific and BPI, which all rallied by over 5 percent.

SM Prime added 3.77 percent, while Ayala Land, Jollibee, PLDT and ICTSI all rose by over 2 percent.

Metrobank, BDO, Ayala Corp., Globe, Megaworld and Meralco all gained over 1 percent.