Philippine stocks edge up on bargain hunting

PHILIPPINE STOCKS advanced on Monday as investors bought cheap shares after Friday’s drop while staying cautious amid lingering geopolitical concerns.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 0.43% or 25.88 points to close at 5,986.85, while the broader all shares index went up by 0.44% or 15.06 points to end at 3,388.43.

“The local market rose as investors hunted for bargains from last Friday’s losses. Despite the rise, however, the market was unable to take the 6,000 resistance level. Trading was also tepid with net value turnover at P5.05 billion. These show that investors are still on a cautious stance amid the lack of a peace deal between the US and Iran,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Manager Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.

“The PSEi ended in the green, recovering from Friday’s decline as strong buying momentum during the morning session lifted the market. However, gains were tempered by some profit taking in the afternoon, while investors remained selective as more companies continued to release their first-quarter earnings reports,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.

The main index opened Monday’s session at 5,997.69, up from Friday’s close of 5,690.97. It rose to a high of 6,033.81 but finished at its intraday low of 5,986.85.

US President Donald J. Trump’s swift rejection of Iran’s response to a US peace proposal sent oil prices surging on Monday amid concerns the 10-week-old conflict will drag on, keeping shipping through the Strait of Hormuz paralyzed, Reuters reported.

Days after the US floated an offer in the hopes of reopening negotiations, Iran on Sunday released a response focused on ending the war on all fronts, especially Lebanon, where US ally Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.

Within hours, Mr. Trump dismissed Iran’s proposal with a post on social media.

Oil prices jumped by more than 3.5% on Monday on news of the continued deadlock that leaves the Strait of Hormuz largely closed. Before the war began on Feb. 28, the narrow waterway carried one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows, and has emerged as one of the central pressure points in the war.

Back home, four of six sectoral indices closed higher on Monday. Property rose by 1.89% or 36.45 points to 1,964.05; services increased by 0.84% or 24.70 points to 2,939.02; industrials went up by 0.42% or 37.91 points to 9,061; and financials edged up by 0.03% or 0.63 point to 1,785.80.

Meanwhile, mining and oil dropped by 1.81% or 334.50 points to 18,139.03, and holding firms went down by 0.66% or 29.91 points to 4,460.1.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 100 to 91, while 73 names were unchanged.

Value turnover dropped to P5.43 billion on Monday with 1.28 billion shares traded from the P8.52 billion with 1.16 billion issues on Friday.

Net foreign selling decreased to P146.61 million from P663.89 million in the previous session. — A.G.C. Magno with Reuters