Shares climb on positioning ahead of earnings

STOCKS opened the month with gains as investors look forward to positive earnings results slated for release this month.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) jumped 1.03% or 84.85 points to close at 8,256.28 on Monday.

The broader all-shares index rose 0.53% or 26.01 points to 4,867.36.

“Basically, it’s a technical behavior, nothing of significance to break up the market.  Everyone’s looking toward the half-year earnings. Hopefully, it’s positive,” said Summit Securities, Inc. President Harry G. Liu in a phone interview on Monday.

“Markets began their positioning to kick off [the fourth quarter] by buying up the market once more,” Luis A. Limlingan, business development head at Regina Capital Development Corp., said in a mobile message.

Mr. Limlingan noted that there was also a spillover as US markets ended the month on a stronger note last Friday.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq advanced to record levels on Friday, buoyed by gains in technology stocks, while each of the major indexes closed out the quarter with solid gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 23.89 points or 0.11% to 22,405.09; the S&P 500 gained 9.3 points or 0.37% to 2,519.36; and the Nasdaq Composite added 42.51 points or 0.66% to 6,495.96.

Sectoral counters were divided on Monday.

Holding firms led the rally and surged 1.96% or 161.53 points to 8,383.20; property climbed 0.93% or 36.12 points to 3,887.03; and financials went up 0.77% or 15.27 points to end the session at 1,976.51.

On the other hand, mining and oil declined 0.47% or 66.52 points to 13,887.79; industrials went down 0.36% or 40.36 points to 11,106.52; and services fell 0.28% or 4.88 points to 1,711.28.

Advancers trumped decliners at 107 to 96, while 52 issues were unchanged.

Value turnover slumped P7.41 billion from Friday’s P73.73 billion as 1.4 billion shares changed hands.

Foreigners dumped shares, with net selling totaling P271.46 million, a reversal of Friday’s net purchases worth P31.68 billion.

“Investors will be on the lookout for key economic releases this week such as the ISM (Institute for Supply Management) manufacturing index tonight, the ISM non-manufacturing index on Wednesday, and the employment report on Friday. There are several speaking engagements by Fed[eral Reserve] officials this week, including a speech on financial regulatory reform by Fed Governor Powell on Tuesday,” Mr. Limlingan said on Monday.

Most Southeast Asian stock markets climbed on Monday, with Indonesia hitting a record and Thailand scaling a fresh 24-year peak, as better-than-expected China factory data boosted investor sentiment. China’s manufacturing activity in September grew at the fastest pace since 2012 as factories cranked up output to take advantage of strong demand and high prices, easing worries of a slowdown. — Janina C. Lim with Reuters