Bargain hunt fuels last-minute rebound to flat end

THE MAIN INDEX managed to stage a last-minute rebound on Monday due to bargain hunting, ending nearly flat from Friday.

For much of the day, however, stocks reeled from concerns about global oil stocks in the wake of the attack on Saudi Aramco’s processing plants last weekend that was estimated to have shut five percent of the world’s supply.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) edged up 0.05% or 4.58 points to close at 7,996.90, while the broader all shares index was largely unchanged at 4,823.05, up by 0.002% or 0.08 points.

“Last-minute bargain hunting lifted the local market by 4.58 points to 7,996.90,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. said in a market note.

Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan, however, said fears about the impact of the attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities capped the last-minute lift. “Local shares closed flat following the news of drone attack on Saudi oil assets over the weekend,” Mr. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message.

The Saturday attack is estimated to have halved the output of Saudi Arabia — the world’s biggest supplier — and cut global supply by five percent or about 5.7 million barrels a day. Reports say this is the single biggest disruption in oil supply that country has seen.

Oil prices surged on Monday following the disruption. Meanwhile, US President Donald J. Trump gave the go signal for the release of oil from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The International Energy Agency also said it was monitoring the situation.

“The sudden spike in prices is deemed as a negative for the Philippine economy, as the country imports almost all its petroleum requirements. Overseas, there was little news to offset attack in Saudi Arabia as US stocks were mixed on Friday despite the sentiment surrounding the US-China trade relations improving,” Mr. Limlingan said.

Asian markets ended mixed following the attacks on Saudi Arabia’s key oil facilities. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.05% or 228.68 points to 21,988.29; the Hang Seng index lost 0.83% or 228.14 points to 27,124.55, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.02% or 0.48 points to 3,030.75.

Back home, the six sectoral indices were equally divided between those that lost and those that gained. Those that ended with gains were the industrial counter, which rose 0.36% or 39.99 points to 11,051.93, property which went up 0.1% or 4.08 points to 4,068.16 and mining & oil which edged up 0.02% or 2.17 points to 9,593.63. Financials dropped 0.16% or 3.05 points to 1,829.57, holding firms shed 0.14% or 11.69 points to 7,906.90, while services slipped 0.08% or 1.34 points to 1,622.27.

Some 942.233 million shares worth P4.967 billion switched hands, compared to last Friday’s 7.12 billion issues worth P4.53 billion. Stocks that lost were more than double those that gained 131 to 68, while 47 others ended flat.

Foreign investors were net buyers for the second straight session at P130.4 million, though slightly lower than Friday’s P140.55 million. — Arra B. Francia