Foreign investors save the day for faltering PSEi

The stock barometer firmed up on Friday as foreign investors picked up selected blue chip stocks, turning into net buyers after 29 consecutive sessions of dumping local equities.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) added 32.96 points or 0.53 percent to close at 6,269.36, in line with mostly buoyant markets across the region.

“Local shares ended the week on a positive note, as bottom-fishing drove the PSEi to close in positive territory as most of the session was spent in the red. Sentiment also got a boost as US stocks rose on the positive jobs data result, putting a stop to Wall St.’s three-day downturn,” said Luis Gerardo Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital Development.

For the week, the PSEi inched up 10.65 points from last week’s finish of 6,258.71.

Despite the PSEi’s gain, market breadth was negative. There were 152 decliners that overwhelmed 50 advancers, while 52 stocks were unchanged.

One notable decliner outside the PSEi was PNB, which slid by 24.39 percent as the bank started trading without the value of its declared property dividends.

Total value turnover amounted to P11.06 billion. There was a hefty P2.04 billion in net foreign buying for the day. —DORIS DUMlaO-ABADILLA