Phl stocks trim losses on bargain hunting

MANILA, Philippines - Late session bargain hunting and technical correction allowed the main index to trim its losses and finish above the 6,700 territory.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) slightly fell 0.03 percent or 1.80 points to 6,703.13, rebounding from the intraday low of 6,635.55. It marked the fourth straight day the benchmark index closed in the red.

The broader all shares index eased 0.16 percent or 6.43 points to finish at 4,023.71.

Justino B. Calaycay Jr., an analyst at Accord Capital Equities Corp., said a late afternoon surge in buying, “possibly recognizing both the bargains presented and the near-even bets on today’s interest rate action, trimmed losses.”

“This strong recovery at the close should augur well for the earlier argument for a technical rebound,” Calaycay said.

“The market’s action was a continuance of the negative outlook driven by the intensifying situation in Iraq and the overhang concerns of a possibility of an economic slowdown in China,” said Gab Aguila, analyst at DA Market Securities.

On Tuesday, Wall Street climbed on the back of gains in financial shares following high inflation data in May. The Dow Jones industrial average added 0.16 percent or 27.48 points to close at 16,808.49, while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.22 percent or 4.21 points to 1,941.99.

Local counters were mixed. The advancers were led by mining and oil that improved 0.80 percent or 121.35 points to 15,377.69, led by the rally of Philex Mining Corp. (+3.23 percent) after the government lifted a suspension order the Padcal copper-gold mine.