The local stock barometer firmed up at the 7,400 level on Thursday on late-session selective buying of large cap stocks.
The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) added 20.02 points, or 0.27 percent, to close at 7,403.12, bucking mostly sluggish markets in the region.
Domestic investors mostly kept the index afloat as there was P528.74 million in net foreign selling for the day.
“A few trades on large-cap blue chips carried the whole PSEi higher (Thursday). Most investors are still on sidelines, which proved to be the better strategy as the sentiment continues to deteriorate on fears of a much worse [coronavirus] pandemic,” AAA Equities head of research Christopher Mangun said.
“Retail investors are starting to take the same strategy and take cash off the table. Second and third-liners are crashing because of this. The main index may end the week closer to the 7,475 resistance level,” he added.
Papa Securities noted that with the February rebalancing of the closely watched MSCi indices turning out to be “much of a nonevent”—with speculated names not being removed from the index—some pressure has been lifted off the PSEi’s shoulders in the meantime.
However, it noted that the continued surge in new coronavirus infections dashed earlier expectations that the contagion may have peaked.
Despite the PSEi’s gain, market breadth was negative. There were 124 decliners that overwhelmed 64 advancers, while 43 stocks were unchanged.
Value turnover for the day was thin at P4.77 billion.
The PSEi was shored up by the financial and holding firm counters, which both slightly gained.
On the other hand, the industrial, services, mining/oil and property counters all slipped.
The PSEi was boosted by the gains eked out by GT Capital and PLDT, which both rose by over 2 percent.
Metrobank and ICTSI both added over 1 percent, while BPI, Ayala Corp., BDO and SM Investments all slightly gained.
On the other hand, Megaworld slid by 4.34 percent.
URC, Ayala Land, Security Bank and Metro Pacific all declined by over 1 percent.
SM Prime, AGI and Meralco marginally slipped.
Among the notable decliners outside the PSEi was ISM, which tumbled by 7.07 percent.
Newly listed Fruitas fell by 1.09 percent.