Bargain hunters lift PSEi back to 7,000

The local stock barometer sprang back to the 7,000 level on Friday as the previous day’s bloodbath attracted domestic bargain-hunters.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) recovered 120.39 points, or 1.75 percent to close at 7,004.77, tracking the rebound in regional markets and the Dow Futures.

Local investors kept the index afloat as net foreign selling persisted for the 32nd consecutive trading session. There was P720.77 million in net outflow from the stock market for the day.

Papa Securities said the local index was finding support within the 6,790 to 6,800 range.

While US stocks continued to fall overnight, Papa Securities said the decline was less than that seen on Wednesday. The Dow Futures also suggested a potential relief in the next session.

For the week, the PSEi lost 73.43 points, or 1 percent.

At the local market, all counters ended higher on Friday, led by the industrial and mining/oil counters, which both racked up more than 2 percent.

The financial, holding firm, services and property counters all added over 1 percent.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P5.28 billion.

There were 127 advancers that edged out 56 decliners while 47 stocks were unchanged.

URC and Security Bank led the day’s rebound, respectively gaining 7.03 percent and 5.78 percent, while GT Capital rose by 4.32 percent.

Jollibee surged by 3.15 percent while Ayala Land, Ayala Corp. and PLDT all advanced by more than 2 percent.

SM Prime, BDO Unibank and Megaworld all added over 1 percent while ICTSI, JG Summit and Metrobank also firmed up.

Notable gainers outside the PSEi included Now Corp., which recovered 28.67 percent after a freefall in the last two days after the company sued the government over certain provisions in the bidding for the third telco player slot.

Specialty retailer SSI gained 6.94 percent while Megawide added 5.55 percent.

On the other hand, Globe Telecom lost 2.23 percent. AEV and BPI declined by 1.07 percent and 0.85 percent, respectively.