Despite foreign selling, PSEi picks up by 1.13%

The local stock barometer rebounded to the 6,800 level on Wednesday as domestic investors picked up stocks dumped by foreign investors.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) added 76.72 points, or 1.13 percent, to close at 6,867.26 despite continued net foreign selling that amounted to P724.48 million. The index has risen for the second consecutive session.

Local equities had a rough start as a 50-basis point emergency interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve failed

to boost the risk appetite of glo­bal investors, as reflected by

the 785.91-point, or 2.94-percent, drop by the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) overnight.

The PSEi hit an intraday low of 6,710.18 but finished closer to the day’s peak of 6,867.26, indicating bargain-hunting close to the 6,700 support level, which was also the year’s low.

Investors also took heart from the rebound in US stock futures. By the local market’s closing, DJIA futures had recouped 437 points, or 1.69 percent. Most markets in the region also firmed up.

“Expect the bounce to try the 6,900 to 7,000 levels. Failure to sustain the rally could revisit the lows anew,” BDO Unibank chief strategist Jonathan Ravelas said.

At the local market, the day’s gains were led by the holding firm and property counters, which respectively advanced by 1.01 percent and 1.91 percent.

The financial and industrial counters posted modest gains while the services and mining/oil counters slipped.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P6 billion.

Despite the PSEi’s gain, market breadth was negative. There were 123 decliners that outnumbered 74 advancers, while 37 stocks were unchanged.

Metro Pacific, Metrobank and JG Summit led the PSEi’s rise, all gaining over 4 percent.

Jollibee added 3.93 percent while Meralco climbed by 3.72 percent.

Ayala Land rose by 2.9 percent while parent conglomerate Ayala Corp. added 2.07 percent.

The day’s biggest gainer was property giant SM Prime, which gained 1.28 percent.

Telecom firms Globe Telecom and PLDT both added over 1 percent.

One notable gainer outside the PSEi was Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy-led ISM Communications, while Euro-Med added 1.32 percent.

On the other hand, URC and First Gen both tumbled by over 3 percent, while URC lost 2.3 percent.

SM Investments shed 1.66 percent while BDO, ICTSI and BPI all slightly declined.

One notable decliner outside the PSEi was Metro Alliance, which gave up 2.91 percent after an extraordinary trading in the past few days.