Index makes U-turn on bargain hunting

MANILA, Philippines — The stock market ended on a positive note yesterday as investors picked up oversold stocks from the previous day’s plunge.

The main Philippine Stock Exchange index or PSEi closed at 6,165.35, up 9.92 points or 0.16 percent, while the broader All Shares index rose 3.89 points or 0.11 to close at 3,340.12.

Most of the sectoral gauges finished in the black except for the industrial index. Mining and oil and services led the gainers.

Total value turnover, however, was thin at P3.7 billion. Market breadth was positive, with 94 gainers to 83 decliners, while 48 issues were unchanged.

Philstocks Financials said the local market rose as investors hunted for bargains from its decline on Thursday. Trading was anemic, however, with net value turnover posting P3.25 billion, the lowest in the last 41 trading days.

Around Asia, benchmarks were mostly lower, echoing a decline on Wall Street, after a quarterly report by Japan’s central bank rekindled worries about the world’s third largest economy.

On Thursday, Wall Street closed out its worst quarter since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020. It was the worst first half since the first six months of 1970.

Recent data suggest global growth is slowing as countries grapple with renewed waves of coronavirus outbreaks, soaring prices and the war in Ukraine.

In the Bank of Japan “tankan” survey, the headline index for large manufacturers was 9, down from 14 in the previous quarter and the second straight quarter of declines. The tankan measures corporate sentiment by subtracting the number of companies saying business conditions are negative from those responding they are positive.

The numbers for non-manufacturing indicators were better, but worries are growing because of pressures from a weakening Japanese yen.

The tankan results might spur criticism over the Bank of Japan’s ultra-loose monetary policy, which is a factor behind the weaker yen, said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.