Market holds out as BSP moves to temper inflation

Philippine stocks gained on Monday, albeit on thin volume, ahead of a Monetary Board policy meeting later this week that could see the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) raise interest rates anew.

A rate increase on Thursday’s meeting was viewed as a positive sign that the BSP is seeking to curb inflation, which hit a nine-year high last August, and to lure money back to the Philippines to help prop up the local currency.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) on Monday rose 0.69 percent, or 50.61 points, to 7,433.61 while the broader all-shares index was up 0.53 percent to 4,531.52.

On Twitter, BDO Unibank Inc. chief strategist Jonathan Ravelas was not surprised by Monday’s gains as he noted the PSEi was “ripe for a technical rebound,” citing indicators that suggested the measure was in the “oversold” levels.

The PSEi was still down about 13 percent since the start of 2018.

Elsewhere, the region’s markets were weaker Monday as a new round of tariffs between the United States and China took effect. The escalating trade war between the two largest economies in the world has weighed on prospects for global economic growth.

At the local bourse, total volume for the day was relatively weak, with 1.31 billion shares valued at P4.57 billion changed hands. Gainers and losers were almost evenly matched at 95 to 97, while 42 companies closed unchanged.

On a per sector basis, property and industrial stocks closed in the red with a drop of 0.53 percent and 0.46 percent, respectively. Financials gained 1.92 percent, followed by mining and oil, up 1.77 percent, and holding firms, up 1.14 percent.

Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. was the most actively traded on Monday as it gained 7.46 percent to P50.40 per share.

It was followed by Bank of the Philippine Islands, up 5.13 percent to P88.20; BDO Unibank Inc., up 0.33 percent to P121; Ayala Corp., up 2.45 percent to P920; and Ayala Land Inc., down 2.04 percent to P40.90 per share.

Other actively traded companies were MRC Allied Inc., down 3.95 percent to P0.73; Security Bank Corp., up 0.24 percent to P168.90; SM Investments Corp., down 0.22 percent to P890; Bloomberry Resorts Corp., up 3.88 percent to P8.29; and International Container Terminal Services, down 0.05 percent to P92.90 per share.