Index climbs back on heavy foreign buying

MANILA, Philippines — The stock market recovered yesterday after sinking in the red again on Tuesday, propelled by heavy foreign buying.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) soared by 125.61 points, or 1.62 percent, to finish at 7,851.46.

The market was not simply up yesterday but it was a strong green day with all indices finishing in positive territory with hefty gains.

Total value turnover was strong at P8.636 billion. Advancing stocks outpaced decliners with a wide gap, 116 to 75 while 52 issues were left unchanged.

Yesterday’s trading session was a stark contrast to Tuesday’s affair when market investors stayed away from local stocks following the higher-than-expected 5.7 percent inflation in July.

Commenting on yesterday’s performance, Gio Perez of Papa Securities said it seemed all the negativity from the previous session had disappeared.

“It felt like all the negativity from Tuesday’s 5.7 percent July inflation figure turned into thin air. The PSEi surged 125.61 points on the back of a net foreign buying figure of P325.8 million, a turnaround from the two days of outflows earlier this week,” Perez said.

Yesterday’s close of 7,851.46 was the index’s highest level since May’s high of 7,906.45.

Ayala-led Globe Telecom was the star of the day as it surged 8.6 percent on the back of better than expected earnings.