PSEi gains on selective buying

The local stock barometer gained on Monday on selective buying as investors welcomed strong third quarter results from the banking sector.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) added 24.03 points or 0.3 percent to close at 7,946.53, in line with mostly upbeat regional markets.

The financial sector led the market higher, rising by 1.6 percent on strong third quarter results of big banks. The holding firm counter also gained.

On the other hand, the industrial, services, mining/oil and property counters slipped.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P5.88 billion.

Local investors supported the PSEi’s gains as foreigners were in a net selling position amounting to P307 million.

Despite the PSEi’s gain, market breadth was negative. There were 105 decliners that edged out 81 advancers, while 65 stocks were unchanged.

“The main index ended slightly higher (Monday) after closing above the 7,920 support level. The general sentiment remains very cautious, keeping investors on the sidelines,” said Christopher Mangun, head of research at local stock brokerage AAA Equities.

On Monday, Metrobank and BDO rose by 3.08 percent and 2.84 percent, respectively, as these banks delivered strong third quarter results.

JG Summit added 2.46 percent while Ayala Corp. added 1.3 percent.

One notable gainer outside the PSEi was Suntrust, which surged by 36.8 percent on backdoor listing speculation.

On the other hand, SM Prime fell by nearly 2 percent, while Jollibee lost 1.41 percent.