Late-session buying buoys stocks

MANILA, Philippines — Late-session buying buoyed the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) to a positive finish yesterday, even as trading remained cautious most of the day.

The bellwether PSEi advanced by 0.21 percent or 12.92 points to end at 6,251.38.

The broader All Shares index, however, inched down by 0.01 percent or 0.34 points to 3,434.89.

Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said the local bourse ended higher after a cautious trading session, with investors remaining wary following news of an “economic D-Day for Iran.”

He said strong buying interest emerged toward the close, pushing the market into positive territory.

“The late-session buying provided support despite prevailing uncertainty,” Limlingan said.

Sectoral gauges were a mixed bag, with the mining and oil index leading the charge with a 3.19 percent jump, while industrial incurred the biggest drop at 0.39 percent.

Trading was thin, with total value turnover amounting to P4.97 billion.

Decliners squashed advancers, 108 to 83, while 65 issues were unchanged.

ICTSI was the session’s top traded stock, climbing by 0.99 percent to P970 per share. It was followed by Meralco, which declined by 0.62 percent to P479, and Jollibee Foods, which climbed by 1.27 percent to P160.

AB Capital Securities said incremental foreign flows continue to broaden beyond ICTSI, with BPI, Jollibee and Meralco seeing notable demand.

“This is constructive for breadth, but ICTSI remains the key swing factor for the index,” it said.