Market inches up as investors go bargain-hunting

The local stock barometer firmed up at the 6,300 level on Wednesday as some investors picked up bargains after Monday’s bloodbath.

Stabilizing for the second session, the main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) added 34.88 points, or 0.55 percent, to close at 6,353.26. Elsewhere in the region, trading sentiment was mixed.

Local stock brokerage Papa Securities said it was time for a much-needed reprieve as a recovery from US markets overnight should soothe Asian markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied by nearly 5 percent overnight as Wall Street cheered potential US government stimulus to counter the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

“We’ve been of the view that this current area between the previous support of 6,500 and the next major one of 6,000 would be a suitable area for accumulation and a bounce—more so with the PSEi’s monthly RSI (relative strength index) already oversold,” the brokerage said.

The industrial and holding firm counters led the PSEi’s rebound, rising by 2.27 percent and 1.08 percent, respectively.

The services and property counters also rose. On the other hand, the financial and mining/oil counters fell by 0.99 percent and 1.52 percent, respectively.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P6.62 billion. Some P350.5 million worth of net foreign buying also supported the market’s rise.

There were 107 advancers that outnumbered 84 decliners, while 48 stocks were unchanged.Investors picked up shares of Ayala Corp. and Jollibee Foods Corp., which both gained over 5 percent.

JG Summit and Puregold both rose by over 3 percent, while Ayala Land added nearly 3 percent.

Universal Robina Corp. advanced by 2.13 percent while Meralco, LTG and Megaworld all rose by over 1 percent, while PLDT rose by nearly 1 percent.

LTG, for its part, announced on Wednesday a P2-billion stock buyback program through end-2021.

On the other hand, BDO, ICTSI, Metrobank and Security Bank all declined by over 2 percent. SM Prime also lost nearly 2 percent.

RLC fell by 0.24 percent.

Outside the PSEi, one notable decliner was Villar-led property developer Vista Land, which lost 4.26 percent.