Stocks advance anew ahead of Q2 earnings results

MANILA, Philippines — Share prices sustained gains for a second day as investors bought blue chip stocks to bolster their portfolios ahead of the release of second quarter corporate earnings results.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) yesterday gained 0.36 percent, or 22.65 points, to close at 6,325.15, as investors stayed optimistic for a second consecutive day.

The broader All Shares index also went up by 0.45 percent, or 15.26 points, to settle at 3,413.71.

Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said investors picked up a new set of blue chips before companies start reporting their quarterly results. Still, he said they are wary of external risks that could throw off the PSEi.

Limlingan said investors would also be on the lookout for economic data to determine whether to buy or sell over the next few days. Given this, they are expected to be cautiously optimistic, with their appetite dependent largely on how their stocks performed in the second quarter.

“The local bourse stayed in the positive territory, as investors maintained a cautiously optimistic stance ahead of the corporate earnings season, already pricing in some second quarter financial results,” Limlingan said.

A total of P7.42 billion worth of shares changed hands yesterday, with gainers beating losers, 117 to 78, while 57 issues were unchanged.

Port developer International Container Terminal Services Inc. was still the most actively traded stock yesterday, shedding its share price by 0.9 percent to P990 a piece.

Meanwhile, most Asian stocks sank as tech firms came under renewed pressure from worries over the AI boom, with Seoul again taking the brunt of the selling.

Regional investors were unable to build on a second day of gains on Wall Street, where more data showing inflation easing pushed back bets on a Federal Reserve interest rate hike to later in the year.