PH stocks snap two-day decline, buck regional trend

The local stock barometer regained ground on Thursday, defying a regional downturn caused by lingering trade war jitters.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) added 24.57 points, or 0.3 percent, to close at 8,258.05, ending a two-day decline as foreign investors continued to pick up large cap stocks.

“The PSEi outperformed most of its Asian peers as (regional) markets ended lower, mirroring the performance of western markets in the last trading session on premature signs that the US-China trade war could hurt corporate earnings, which pushed for some demand for US Treasuries,” AAA Securities head of research Christopher Mangun said in a research note.

If the market would see strong volumes on Friday, Mangun said the index might  end closer to 8,300 for the week.

On Thursday, the market was led higher by the financial and mining/oil counters, which both added over 1 percent.

The holding firm and services counters also firmed up.

On the other hand, the industrial and property counters slipped.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P5.6 billion. Foreign investors were net buyers to the tune of P540.7 million.

There were 116 advancers that edged out 79 decliners while 52 stocks were unchanged.

Investors picked up shares of BPI, Globe Telecom, GT Capital and Security Bank, which all added over 2 percent.

Ayala Land, Metrobank, BDO, ICTSI, SM Investments and First Gen also firmed up.

One notable gainer outside the PSEi was Filinvest Land, which added 1.52 percent.

On the other hand, SM Prime Holdings lost 1.03 percent.

PLDT, Aboitiz Power, SMC, Jollibee and Puregold also slipped.