Stocks end week on positive note

MANILA, Philippines — Stocks continued on an uptrend to end the week on a positive note as economies worldwide slowly recover from a lockdown-induced standstill.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) finished at 6,372.66, up 8.58 points or 0.13 percent while the broader All Shares index rose 0.95 point or 0.02 percent to end at 3,717.93.

Except for the financials and industrial sectors which were in the red, the rest of the sectors finished in positive territory, with mining and oil jumping by 2.20 percent.

Total value turnover reached P7.385 billion. Market breadth was negative with 103  decliners to 92 advancers while 45 issues were unchanged.

Foreign fund managers returned to the market yesterday for a net foreign buying of P834 million. Total foreign buying reached P3.5 billion while foreign selling slipped to P2.6 billion.

“Local shares rose following a better-than-expected US jobs report as the economy continue to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. European stocks closed sharply higher Thursday on positive news around a potential coronavirus vaccine and better-than-expected US jobs data,” Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said.

He noted however that in the US, COVID-19 cases continue to rise in several states.

“Florida’s cases and hospitalizations jumped by the most ever, while deaths rose the most in a month. Houston reported a 4.3 percent jump in ICU patients. On a more hopeful note, New York City plans to reopen its public schools in September. Drug-maker Moderna said a 30,000-patient trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate will start later this month,” he added.