Index climbs back as investors return to look for bargains

MANILA, Philippines — The local stock market yesterday recovered from Wednesday’s bloodbath, ignoring the chaos in the US as supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building in Washington.

Domestic and foreign investors returned to the Philippine equities market and decided to take advantage of cheap stocks.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rallied back to the 7,100 mark, closing at 7,119.61, up 71.76 points or 1.01 percent.

Likewise, the broader All Shares index gained 41.35 points or 0.97 percent to finish at 4,271.49.

“Philippine shares bounced back despite an outbreak of civil discord in the US capital by Trump supporters,” said Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital.

Japhet Tantiangco, an analyst at PhilStocks Financial Inc., said the local market climbed as investors took the cue from the Dow Jones index.

“The local bourse climbed as bargain hunters took advantage of the market’s prior two straight days of decline. Investors also took cue from the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s record high performance overnight. The activeness in trading has declined, however, with net value turnover posting P8.73 billion, still above 2020’s daily average of P6.53 billion but below Wednesday’s P11.91 billion,” he said.

On Wall Street, share prices rallied on expectations of more stimulus for the economy.

With pandemic restrictions being reinstated in many places as coronavirus caseloads rise amid faltering rollouts of COVID-19 vaccines, economists and investors have been hoping for more economic aid for Americans and businesses. A strong US economy is needed to help drive a global recovery from the worst downturn in decades.