Recovery prospects perk up share prices

MANILA, Philippines — Share prices rose further yesterday as the bourse returned to pre-COVID-19 trading hours, although concerns over the impact of the Omicron variant remain in play.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rallied 1.07 percent or 75.55 points to finish at 7,130.74 while the broader All Shares index gained 21.89 points or 0.58 percent to close at 3,812.09.

The PSE reverted to a full-day trading session from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. starting yesterday.

Due to “technical reasons,” however, trading was halted yesterday at 2:08 p.m. and resumed at 2:34 p.m.

Total value turnover, however, did not significantly improve at P6.5 billion. Market breadth, likewise, was slightly positive, 94 to 93, while 52 issues were unchanged.

“The local market bucked the global downtrend as investors remain optimistic that the Philippine economy is on the road to recovery,” AB Capital Securities said in a commentary.

Analysts at HSBC said in a note they expect equities in ASEAN nations including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines to be well-positioned for 2022 on likely growing earnings momentum, low valuations, and high dividend yields.

Despite yesterday’s strong finish, stock portal 2TradeAsia said volatile sessions are expected, as participants weigh responses to Omicron and higher Federal Reserve rates, as well as recovery prospects for 2022.

“Some might also monitor the release of November inflation and sequel trend toward the first quarter of 2022 in case supply chain-related bottlenecks affect the flow of goods and services,” it said.

But for now, Omicron concerns took a back seat as investors are more focused on the local COVID-19 situation and its impact on the country’s economic prospects, said Japhet Tantiangco of Philstocks Financial.