Share prices closed higher on Tuesday as bargain hunters drove the benchmark index back above the 6,100 level, spurred by overnight gains on Wall Street, easing bond yields and a stronger peso.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose 1.51 percent, or 91.31 points, to close at 6,148.74. The broader All Shares climbed 0.97 percent, or 35.63 points, to 3,706.20.
Market breadth was positive, with 101 gainers against 93 losers, while 59 issues were unchanged. Value turnover reached P6.54 billion from 80,854 trades involving 3.69 billion shares.
Foreign investors were net sellers, at P35.46 million, with purchases of P2.99 billion against sales of P3.02 billion.
“Buyers took control of today’s session as bargain hunting persisted. However, firm catalysts are still needed to determine whether this marks the beginning of a true market recovery,” Luis Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital Development Corp., said.
Japhet Tantiangco, research manager at Philstocks Financial Inc., said the rebound was driven by “positive cues from Wall Street, the decline in local yields, and the improvement of the peso’s position against the dollar.”
The peso strengthened to 56.91 to the greenback from 57.181 on Monday. It opened at 57.07, hit a high of 56.90, and touched a low of 57.165.
Tantiangco added that the recovery came amid “hopes of a Fed rate cut in their meeting this week,” as well as the release of robust overseas Filipino remittance data.
Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said sentiment also firmed on reports the Philippines is being considered for inclusion in JP Morgan’s emerging market government bond index, which could attract more foreign inflows, increase liquidity and reduce borrowing costs.
