Bourse climb as Wall Street rises on trade talks

PHILIPPINE SHARES rebounded on Tuesday following Wall Street’s positive performance overnight amid developments in the Sino-US trade negotiations.

The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose 31.2 points or 0.39% to close at 7,912.14 on Tuesday, putting an end to four consecutive days of decline. The broader all shares index also improved 9.46 points or 0.2% to 4,729.72.

“With US market up last night on continued positive development on US-China trade negotiation, market went on bargain hunting today after several days of correction,” Diversified Securities, Inc. Equity Trader Aniceto K. Pangan said in a text message on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 31.26 points or 0.11% to close at 28,036.15; the S&P 500 gained 1.55 points or 0.05% to 3,122.01; and the Nasdaq Composite added 9.11 points or 0.11% to 8,549.94.

Aside from Wall Street’s climb, Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said the PSEi rose simply because investors “digested mixed headlines on US-China trade relations.”

CNBC reported on Monday that Chinese officials were pessimistic about the trade deal with US, following comments of US President Donald Trump that he has not agreed to roll back tariffs on Chinese goods.

On the other hand, several foreign news outlets reported the US Commerce Department has extended its reprieve on Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. to engage in exporting with American companies.

Mr. Limlingan said amid these developments, investors decided to buy into the Philippine market.

All sectoral indices at the PSE advanced on Tuesday’s close. Mining and oil added 50.92 points or 0.59% to close at 8,601.01; financials climbed 9.07 points or 0.47% to 1,919.01; holding firms gained 34.71 points or 0.44% to 7,806.99; services inched up 5.72 points or 0.37% to 1,549.57; industrials improved 21.09 points or 0.21% to 10,037.24; and property added 2.09 points or 0.05% to 4,075.63.

Some 1.32 billion shares worth P6.22 billion changed hands on Tuesday, up from Monday’s 430.55 million shares worth P4.32 billion.

Declining stocks outnumbered those that gained, 100 against 88, while 50 names ended unchanged. Foreign investors sold their shares anew, with net outflow on Tuesday amounting to P1.03 billion, a reversal of Monday’s net foreign buying worth P100.23 million.

AAA Southeast Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun said in an e-mail that the PSE is “not out of the woods yet” despite the main index’s gain.

“The general investor sentiment remains extremely cautious and no one is willing to get in until we see either a decrease in selling pressure or a pick-up in buying. In the meantime, the market will remain in limbo until investors start to believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. — Denise A. Valdez