Share prices ended up Monday on bargain hunting after last week’s sell-off.
Security Bank’s Trust and Asset Management Group (TAMG) expects the economy to rebound this year, leading for the PSEi to hit 8,000 by yearend.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was up 98.78 points to 7,311.01, a 1.37 percent hike.
The broader all shares index was up 46.24 points or 1.2 percent to 3,889.09.
Gainers edged losers 108 to 79 with 49 stocks unchanged. Trading turnover reached P11.61 billion.
The peso closed at 51.27 to the dollar, up from 51.34 on Friday. It opened at 51.39, hitting a high of 51.265 and a low of 51.42. Trading turnover reached $780.5 million.
In a report, TAMG said the PSEi went down close to 4,700 points on March 19, 2020, when the pandemic hit but while the index slowly recovered, it remained highly volatile because of various COVID-19 restrictions.
“With listed companies being able to adapt to the new normal, this has made them more resilient to lockdowns, allowing both local institutional and retail investors to be more comfortable in increasing investments in the stock market. This is reflected in the continued recovery of the PSEi every time a sell-off occurs. We at TAMG are optimistic that by year-end, the index will reach the 8,000-mark,” said Basil Jason Go, Security Bank TAMG head of equities.
Despite the optimism, the group warned of possible scenarios that can affect the bullish outlook on the stock market, such as new deadly COVID-19 variants, higher than normal inflation, a more hawkish Federal Reserve that can lead to higher-than-expected interest rates, an escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the possibility of having a challenging election season.
“We are optimistic that for 2022, the equities market will outperform the fixed income market, through cheap valuations, a strong domestic bid, and the return of foreign flows. We are looking at a strong rebound for the equities market and the possibility of double-digit returns.” Go said.
“As we enter 2022, we are optimistic that we are beginning to find our solid footing by the large and growing vaccination rate of people that allows for increased mobility and more economic re-opening. Finally, we are recovering from the losses and damage that COVID-19 brought to the local and global economies,” said Noel Reyes, Security Bank TAMG chief investment officer.
Luis Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital Development Corp., said Monday’s uptick was a result of funds realigning their holdings with the latest results of the MSCI rebalancing.
“Others continued to assess the financial risks stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” he said. “Back home, the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases) decided to place NCR (National Capital Region) under Alert Level 1 starting tomorrow until March 15, 2022.”
Most actively traded SM Prime Holdings Inc. was up P1.80 to P39.80. BDO Unibank Inc. was down P0.90 to P129.20. Ayala Land Inc. was up P1.80 to P39. Bank of the Philippine Islands was up P2 to P100. Globe Telecom Inc. was down P130 to P2,568. Monde Nissin Corp. was up P1.72 to P16.52. SM Investments Corp. was up P21 to P892. International Container Terminal Services Inc. was up P0.60 to P210.60. Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. was down P2.40 to P57.10. Converge ICT Holdings Inc. was down P0.95 to P26. – Ruelle Castro
