Bargain hunting lifts PSEi back to 6,100
The local stock market pulled off a win despite the continued depreciation of the peso and the country’s unemployment rate hitting a four-year high in July, as investors opted to capitalize on cheap valuations instead.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index, known as PSEi, has recovered to the 6,100 mark, marking a 0.37 percent increase or 22.31 points. This gain occurred despite the peso's ongoing depreciation and July's unemployment rate hitting a four-year high. Investors were drawn to the lower valuations, boosting the market. The broader All Shares index also rose by 0.17 percent or 5.62 points, reaching 3,384.57.
Financial firm Philstocks Financial attributed the market's rise to bargain-hunting, specifically citing ICTSI, the top index gainer of the day, as a key factor. Net foreign inflows of P164.54 million also helped sustain the upward trend. However, the market's sentiment remained cautious, as evidenced by the relatively thin trading volume, which improved to P4.39 billion from the previous day's P3.89 billion.
AB Capital Securities noted that the PSEi's ability to hold the 6,100 level was questionable, with late fading and light turnover indicating insufficient conviction, possibly due to the US long weekend. ICTSI drove the rebound, though the ex-ICT PSEi still fell below 6,100. Financial sectors saw the most significant decline, with a 0.78 percent loss.
Services sectors posted the largest gain at 1.81 percent. The day closed with 102 stocks falling, 89 rising, and 71 remaining unchanged. ICTSI experienced the highest trading activity, jumping by 2.52 percent to P957 per share. Other notable stocks included BDO Unibank, which declined by 0.08 percent to P120, and Atlas Mining, which surged by 10.82 percent to P23.05.
Written by urgent.news from Philippine Star Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
