PH stocks rebound to 6,600 level despite Delta fears

The local stock barometer rebounded to the 6,600 level on Tuesday as concerns over the US Federal Reserve’s tapering of monetary stimulus eased.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) recouped 87.15 points or 1.32 percent to close at 6,678.82, tracking mostly upbeat regional markets.

Across regional markets, investors see it increasingly unlikely that US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell will announce a timeline for winding down its bond-buying program during his Jackson Hole speech this week.

“Investors are also betting that Powell will turn more dovish than earlier thought, and worries over the Delta variant were shoved aside,” said Luis Gerardo Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital Development.

Daily COVID-19 cases in the Philippines are rising to new highs while lockdown restrictions in the metropolis have been relaxed.

Despite this, all counters ended higher, led by the industrial, holding firm and property counters, which all added over 1 percent.

The financial, services and mining/oil counters all added less than 1 percent.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P5.53 billion. There was net foreign buying worth P291.11 million for the day.

Gainers beat decliners 106-83, while 54 stocks were unchanged.

The index was led by Globe Telecom, which surged by 4.97 percent and was the day’s most actively traded company.

First Gen added 6.81 percent, while JG Summit, SM Investments and Meralco all rose by over 2 percent.

AC Energy, the second most actively traded company, gained 1.87 percent, while Ayala Land, URC, BPI and BDO all added over 1 percent.

Ayala Corp., PLDT, SM Prime and GT Capital all rose by less than 1 percent.

On the other hand, ICTSI and Converge both lost over 1 percent.

Notable decliners outside the PSEi included Emperador, which shed 2.44 percent, while Apollo Global fell by 5.19 percent. INQ