Share prices ended higher Tuesday amid bargain hunting after recent market drops.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index was up 89.87 points to 7,226.90, a 1.26 percent hike.
The broader all shares index was up 37.06 points to 4,293.89, a 0.87 percent hike.
Gainers edged losers 113 to 73 with 48 stocks unchanged. Trading turnover reached P9.61 billion.
The peso closed at 50.765 to the dollar, up from 50.80 on Monday. It opened at 50.85, hit a high of 50.725 and a low of 50.85.
Justino Calaycay Jr., head of research at Philstocks Financial Inc., said investors are currently following the narrative of “the new coronavirus, the Middle East, Brexit, oil, treasury bills, regulatory risks, Taal and the China economy, in addition to the onset of the Q4 (fourth quarter) 2019 earnings cycle.”
“Yet the investor must first decide to be either optimistic or otherwise over how these issues are resolved, eventually,” Calaycay said.
“In our view, the undercurrents are still that of optimism. Proof? Participation is still decent as shown by value flows hitting between P5 billion and P6 billion, albeit mostly on the sell side. While this is concerning, a drop in this figure to less than P5 billion on a consistent basis and for an extended period would strongly indicate a drying-up phase. Howbeit, this will be an even stronger encouragement for buyers as it indicates selling pressures have not only eased but is poised for a shift,” he added.
Calaycay, however, said the undercurrent of optimism “is yet to be acted upon as the surface waters are still choppy.”
“In essence, we are waiting for the situation to settle down — for the market to fully discount the worst-case scenario. As to when and at what level that is, history, the charts and the anecdotes of experience provide clues. Thus, the caveat when listening to analysts’ public thoughts — they discuss mainly the short-term prospects, the surface waters,” he said.
“The 2019-nCoV is an issue that will hound the market through much of this quarter. There are social and economic costs,” Calaycay added.
Most actively traded SM Investments Corp. was up P9 to P983.50. SM Prime Holdings Inc. was steady at P38.90. Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. was up P0.60 to P56.65. Ayala Land Inc. was steady at P40.95. BDO Unibank Inc. was up P6.20 to P150.70. Manila Water Co. Inc. was up P1.03 to P13.78. Ayala Corp. was up P24.50 to P740.50. Jollibee Foods Corp. was down P1 to P195. International Container Terminal Services Inc. was down P0.60 to P127.40.
