Stocks recover losses, end week in the green

MANILA, Philippines — Share prices recovered yesterday from one of the worst selloffs in months Thursday, ending the week on a positive note.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) finished at 6,324.00, up 74.61 points or 1.19 percent while the broader All Shares index rose 26.49 points or 0.70 percent to close at 3,779.57.

Most of the gauges rallied except for the services sector which ended in negative territory.

Total value turnover reached P7.289 billion. Market breadth was positive, 135 to 81, while 37 issues were unchanged.

Foreign buying reached P2.96 billion while foreign selling prevailed at P4.16 billion.

The market corrected after three consecutive days in the red. A spillover effect from the US stock market also helped stocks bounce back, traders said.

“The local market was able to recover earlier losses as investors brace for the release of a slew of economic data and corporate results next week,” AB Capital Securities said.

Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., estimates year-on-year inflation for the month of October at 2.4 percent.

There is a slightly higher uptick in inflation expected in October due to agriculture damage largely brought about by the series of storms and typhoons during the month, which may have resulted in some pickup in prices especially of food and other agricultural products, which have a significant weight on the inflation basket, Ricafort said.