Index continues ascent on Wall Street rally

MANILA, Philippines — Share prices, buoyed by Wall Street’s broad rally, continued their ascent for a second consecutive day, ending the week in positive territory.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) finished 22.65 points or 0.32 percent higher at 7,055.19, while the broader All Shares index advanced 17.70 points or 0.47 percent to 3,790.20.

“A broad rally on Wall Street pushed stocks across the region in the green, including the Philippines, as the PSEi continued to recoup some of its losses after several days of volatile trading,” said Luis Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital and Development Corp.

“It looks like the heavy selling in recent days may have presented too tempting an opportunity for traders as bargain-hunting began after the panic-selling,” he said.

The counters were a mixed bag, with property and financials leading with gains of 2.31 percent and 1.33 percent, respectively.

Mining and oil, meanwhile, suffered the biggest blow with a 1.13 percent decline.

Advancers pummeled decliners, 131 to 65, while 38 stocks were unchanged.

Foreign transactions for the day ended in a net outflow of P181.59 million, according to Philstocks Financial analyst Japhet Tantiangco.

“Trading was lethargic however with net value turnover posting P6.16 billion, below the year-to-date average of P7.47 billion. This shows that many investors have stayed out of the market due to the lingering   uncertainties caused by the Omicron variant,” Tantiangco said.

Meanwhile, stocks were mixed in Asia as investors kept an eye on the spread of the new coronavirus variant and measures governments are taking to restrain it.

Hong Kong slipped more than one percent while Tokyo edged lower. Shanghai and Seoul were higher while Sydney was nearly unchanged.