Good news on COVID-19 front perks up PH stocks; index rallies by 2.61%

The local stock barometer rallied sharply on Monday, albeit in thin trade, as investors welcomed signs that COVID-19 contagion may finally be slo­wing down in the Philippines.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) racked up 150.76 points or 2.61 percent to close at 5,935.85, supported by domestic hands as foreign investors continued to dump equities.

“It’s looking to be an interesting start to the week especially with the movement of the index the past two sessions—affirming what seems to be a strong support level at the 5,700 mark. A potential catalyst this week could be the focus that the Philippines is already flattening the curve­­—with the UP Octa Research team already saying that the reproduction number is less than 1 (a sign of curve flattening),” local stock brokerage Papa Securities said.

“The market should view this positively—and taken along with how we’re trading at support with an oversold RSI (relative strength index), could be the reason that brings us back to the 6,000 level,” the brokerage said.

All counters ended higher, led by the property counter, which surged by 4.06 percent.

The holding firm and mining/oil counters both gained over 2 percent, while the financial, industrial and services counters all advanced by over 1 percent.

Value turnover was thin at P3.9 billion. There was P841.39 million worth of net foreign selling.

There were 132 advancers that overwhelmed 65 decli­ners, while 37 stocks were unchanged.

“Local shares started strong as investor bought into names that would benefit from the economy reopening, and also offsetting a steep decline last week,” said Luis Gerardo Lim­lingan, managing director at Regina Capital Development.

The PSEi was boosted by gains eked out by Ayala Land, the day’s most actively traded company, which rallied by 6.38 percent.

Leading conglomerate SM Investments Corp. also surged by 5.67 percent.

SM Prime added 3.22 percent while BDO, Globe Telecom and Megaworld all rose by over 2 percent.

Ayala Corp., ICTSI, GT Capital, PLDT, BPI, Jollibee and AGI all added over 1 percent.

On the other hand, JG Summit, Metro Pacific, Security Bank and URC all rose by less than 1 percent. INQ