PHILIPPINE SHARES climbed on Monday on bargain hunting following last week’s decline and despite data showing foreign direct investments (FDIs) declined in June.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 109.75 points or 1.66% to close at 6,715.75 on Monday, while the broader all shares index went up by 39.35 points or 1.12% to 3,545.82.
“The PSEi finished today gaining 1.66% to close at 6,715.75 despite negative news on FDI inflows posting a 13-month low in June,” Unicapital Securities, Inc. Equity Research Analyst Ralph Jonathan B. Fausto said in a Viber message.
“We can attribute this upswing in our index today to some bargain hunting activities as the PSEi declined 1.3% week on week in the previous week presenting good windows of buying opportunities to some investors,” Mr. Fausto said.
Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Analyst Claire T. Alviar added in a Viber message that Wall Street’s rise on Friday also lifted the market, although trading volume was weak ahead of the release of US consumer inflation data on Tuesday, which could influence the upcoming policy decisions of the US Federal Reserve and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) next week.
Value turnover went up to P4.31 billion on Monday with 636.9 million shares changing hands from the P4.27 billion with 787 million issues seen the previous trading day.
Net inflows of foreign direct investments dropped by 51.5% to $471 million in June from $971 million a year earlier, data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Monday showed.
The June level was a 13-month low. FDI net inflows also declined by 36.5% from $742 million in May.
For the first half, FDI net inflows rose by 3.1% to $4.641 billion from $4.503 billion in the same period last year. The central bank expects FDI net inflows to reach $11 billion this year.
Meanwhile, on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 377.19 points or 1.19% to close at 32,151.71; the S&P 500 gained 61.18 points or 1.53% to 4,067.36; and the Nasdaq Composite added 250.18 points or 2.11% to 12,112.31.
Back home, the majority of sectoral indices ended higher on Monday except for mining and oil, which went down by 4.65 points or 0.04% to close at 11,617.44.
Meanwhile, holding firms climbed by 129.48 points or 2.03% to 6,495.17; services went up by 31.17 points or 1.85% to 1,708.20; property increased by 47.66 points or 1.62% to 2,982.60; financials added 26.04 points or 1.62% to close at 1,632.67; and industrials gained 34.90 points or 0.35% to end at 9,863.79.
Advancers outnumbered decliners, 113 against 79, while 52 names closed unchanged.
Net foreign buying declined to P407.78 million on Monday from the P580.29 million seen on Friday.
Unicapital Securities’ Mr. Fausto placed the PSEi’s support at 6,550 and resistance at 6,750, while Philstocks Financial’s Ms. Alviar put support at 6,600 and resistance at 7,000-7,100. — J.I.D. Tabile
