Window-dressing pulled the stock market up to close higher on Monday, bucking regional trends.
“Philippine shares were trading in the red for most of the session before the market was bought up at closing to end the quarter,” noted Luis Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital and Development Corp.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) closed 33.28 points higher at 6,180.72, a 0.54 percent gain.
The broader All Shares index gained 10.93 points or 0.3 percent to 3,677.88.
Gainers edged out losers 104 to 99, with 46 stocks unchanged. Trading turnover reached P5.35 billion.
Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said the market bounced back amid “some window-dressing activities toward the end of the trading day in view of the month-end and quarter-end.”
Investors were also betting on the stimulating impact of the campaign period that started on Friday last week.
“That could benefit some listed companies in terms of higher sales and earnings in view of midterm election-related spending,” he said.
Overseas, Reuters reported that Asian share markets tumbled, driven by concerns that the broad and steep US tariffs to be announced this week could impact trade-reliant emerging economies, many of which have huge trade surpluses with the United States.
Most equities in emerging Asian countries fell to multi-month lows on the final trading day of the quarter. However, major Southeast Asian markets—Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore—were closed for a public holiday.
On a note, the online stock trading platform colfinancial.com said investors should take advantage of the sell-down in the local stock market due to the US trade war contagion to snap up cheap stocks.
“The Philippines is a domestically- -driven economy, making us less vulnerable to global threats, including a trade war with the UD Another reason why we are less vulnerable to a trade war is that we account for less than one percernt of the US’s net imports. Finally, most listed companies have very strong balance sheets, minimizing risk of bankruptcies and enabling them to pay cash dividends consistently,” it said.
“Coupled with local stocks’ very cheap valuations, dividend yields are very attractive, making it easier for equity investors to stay patient until sentiment improves,” Colfinancial.com added.
SM Investments Corp. gained P7 to P788. SM Prime Holdings Inc. rose P1.20 to P24. LT Group Inc. closed up P0.18 at P12.18. Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. shed P0.60 to P73. Ayala Land Inc. added P0.70 to P23. Jollibee Foods Corp. jumped P6.60 to P240. Manila Electric Co. closed up P22 at P550. International Container Terminal Services Inc. dropped P15 to P355. BDO Unibank Inc. shed P0.70 to P153.30. Bank of the Philippine Islands declined by P2.60 to P132. — (With additional report from Reuters)
