Bargain-hunting propels PSEi out of bear territory

The local stock barometer sprang out of bear territory on Wednesday, powered by a spurt of foreign buying as bargain-hunting trumped investor hysteria over the novel coronavirus contagion.The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) racked up 125.95 points or 1.74 percent to close at 7,352.85.

The market was buoyed by around P1.54 billion in net foreign buying, which allowed the main index to climb past the 7,250 bear territory boundary.

Joseph Roxas, president of local stock brokerage Eagle Equities, said bargain-hunting boosted local equities as investors took their cue from the overnight rebound in Wall Street stocks.

Roxas added that the market may now be discounting the coronavirus outbreak and likewise pricing in the decline in fuel prices.

Manuel Lisbona, president of PNB Securities, said the market was still respecting 7,000 level for the moment.

Christopher Mangun, head of research at AAA Equities, noted that US equities markets had continued their rally overnight on “easing fears of coronavirus’ impact on the global economy as China enacts aggressive measures to limit the fallout from the virus.” Asian markets tracked Wall Street’s gains.

“The PSEi continued its rally from [Tuesday] confirming the strength of the 7,200 support level. We will see some profit-taking toward the end of the week as fears of the pandemic persist,” he added.

All counters ended higher on Wednesday, led by the financial counter, which rose by 2 percent. The property counter advanced by 1.98 percent, while the industrial, holding firm and services counters added over 1 percent.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P9.07 billion.

There were 110 advancers that edged out 74 decliners, while 48 stocks were unchanged.

The PSEi was lifted by Ty family-led Metrobank and GT Capital, which surged by 5.56 percent and 4.23 percent, respectively.

JG Summit and BPI both rose by over 3 percent, while Ayala Land, PLDT and URC all advanced by over 2 percent.

SM Investments, SM Prime and LTG all added over 1 percent, while Ayala Corp. firmed up by 0.47 percent.