PSEi rebounds to 5,700 as bargain hunters return
Philippine stocks rebounded on Friday as investors picked up beaten-down shares, while a pause in the peso’s slide offered some relief to market sentiment.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) climbed 1.61 percent, or 90.60 points, to close at 5,700.99, partially reversing Thursday’s 2.2-percent decline.
The broader All Shares index rose 1.47 percent, or 46.30 points, to 3,191.85.
Luis Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corp., attributed the recovery to broad buying across the market and bargain hunting following recent losses.
The peso also took a breather after weakening to a record low in the previous session, Limlingan said.
Gainers outnumbered decliners, 120 to 57, while 62 issues were unchanged.
Turnover reached P4.73 billion, excluding extraordinary block sales.
All sectoral indices advanced. Mining and oil led with a 2.80-percent gain, followed by services at 2.36 percent and industrial at 2.33 percent.
Financials rose 1.50 percent, while property and holding firms added 0.79 percent and 0.61 percent, respectively.
Despite the rebound, Ron Acoba, chief investment strategist at Trading Edge, cautioned that the advance appeared largely technical, reflecting more normal trading conditions after Thursday’s aggressive late selling.
That selling had pushed several stocks sharply lower to close at their bid prices, despite substantial buying interest and unusually wide bid-ask spreads, Acoba said.
“The broader market outlook remains bearish amid a lack of meaningful positive catalysts,” he said.
He cited elevated bond yields, the peso’s weakness and expectations of further monetary tightening by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas as persistent obstacles to a sustained recovery.
Acoba warned that the PSEi’s critical support zone of 5,584 to 5,600 remained vulnerable to a breakdown unless the index established a convincing base and sustained its recovery.
Friday’s gains thus offered a respite from recent selling, but Acoba’s assessment suggested the rebound had yet to signal a lasting improvement in the market’s direction.
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