Bargain hunting props up share prices

MANILA, Philippines — The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index rallied yesterday, climbing by 150.72 points to close at 7,821.34  on bargain hunting.

The broader All Shares index gained 68.17 points or 1.43 percent to end at 4,809.07.

All other indices finished in positive territory. 

Leading the sectoral indices that rallied were the property, industrial and financials.

Total value turnover, meanwhile, reached P6.008 billion and market breadth was positive, 113 to 88 while 38 issues were unchanged. 

Foreign buying reached P3.50 billion while foreign selling was P3.23 billion.

Luis Limlingan, managing director of Regina Capital said in a comment that investors became bargain hunters as they looked beyond US-China trade talks for further catalysts to trade on. 

He also noted that European markets eked up small gains as Germany’s composite PMI continue to rebound.

As for other factors, Limlingan also noted that  sales of new US  homes climbed in December to their highest pace in seven months, a sign that lower mortgage rates have helped the real estate market.

“The Commerce Department said that new-home sales rose 3.7 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 621,000. November’s sales were revised down to 599,000 from an annual rate of 657,000. For all of 2018, new-home sales rose 1.5 percent,” he said.