PHILIPPINE STOCKS rebounded on Wednesday as investors picked up bargains after the market’s two-day decline and following the release of US inflation data.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) went up 30.85 points or 0.45% to close at 6,822.09 on Wednesday, while the broader all shares index added 4.53 points or 0.12% to end at 3,636.18.
“The PSEi gained as market participants sought bargains after the index fell in the previous two sessions. Investors are wary after digesting mixed data on US inflation,” Timson Securities, Inc. Head of Online Trading Marc Kebinson L. Lood said in a Viber message.
“Philippine equities recovered, while US equities slipped following the release of January’s hotter-than-anticipated CPI (consumer price index). This paves the way for a potentially longer path in the Fed’s (US Federal Reserve) fight against spiking prices,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.
The US CPI increased 0.5% last month after gaining 0.1% in December, Reuters reported. A 0.7% rise in the cost of shelter, which mostly reflected rents, accounted for nearly half of the monthly increase in the CPI.
In the 12 months through January, the CPI increased 6.4%. That was the smallest gain since October 2021 and followed a 6.5% rise in December. The revisions to 2022 CPI account for the modest slowdown in the year-on-year CPI.
“Investors today were mostly staying on the sidelines after mixed views on the CPI (consumer price index) result last night. The PSE index closed green after investors slowly bought the market towards the close,” Mercantile Securities Corp. Head Trader Jeff Radley C. See said in a Viber message on Wednesday.
Almost all sectoral indices ended higher on Wednesday. Property gained 46.30 points or 1.56% to end at 3,002.32; financials went up by 13.61 points or 0.74% to 1,836.14; industrials added 18.84 points or 0.19% to end at 9,874.54; and holding firms inched up by 12.26 points or 0.18% to 6,530.17.
Meanwhile, services declined by 21.29 points or 1.24% to close at 1,689.96; and mining and oil lost 86.7 points or 0.75% to 11,348.70.
Value turnover declined to P5.26 billion on Wednesday with 1.09 billion shares changing hands from the P7.37 billion with 969.20 million issues traded on Tuesday.
Decliners outnumbered advancers, 113 versus 71, while 46 names closed unchanged.
Net foreign buying stood at P143.88 million on Wednesday versus the P461.38 million in net selling seen on Tuesday.
Timson Securities’ Mr. Lood placed the PSEi’s support at 6,700 and resistance at 7,100, while Mercantile Securities’ Mr. See put support at 6,550 to 6,762 and resistance at 7,000 to 7,150. — Ashley Erika O. Jose with Reuters