Shares bounce back on bargain hunting

MANILA, Philippines — The local stock market rebounded to close the week in the positive territory as investors went into bargain-hunting mode.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index improved by 0.14 percent or 9.05 points to settle at 6,297.30.

The broader All Shares index likewise inched up by 0.06 percent or 1.94 points, finishing at 3,439.17.

“The local index ended higher as investors engaged in bargain hunting following yesterday’s decline, providing support to select shares,” Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said.

Limlingan said market sentiment remained cautious as investors continued to digest incoming corporate earnings and assess their implications for valuations.

Philistocks Financial, for its part, said the local market rose after taking cues from Wall Street’s overnight climb.

“This comes on the back of favorable inflation figures in the US which raise hopes that the Federal Reserve won’t take a hawkish stance moving forward,” it said.

Philstocks Financial also said appreciation of second quarter and first half corporate results of selected companies helped in yesterday’s climb.

Sectors were a mixed bag, with those in the red with the slight advantage. Services posted the biggest gain at 1.19 percent, while mining and oil lost the most at 2.12 percent.

Total turnover value stood at P5.20 billion.

Advancers overpowered decliners, 113 to 92, while 52 issues did not change hands.

First Gen took over the top spot among the session’s most actively traded stocks, surging by 9.64 percent to P30.70 per share. It was followed by PLDT, which shed 4.49 percent to P1,170 and ICTSI, which climbed by 1.76 percent to P982.