Local stocks bounce back due to bargain hunting, strong company earnings
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) on Wednesday, Nov. 12, recovered from the previous day’s drop due to improved investor activity and stronger company earnings.
The PSEi rose by 1.51 percent, or 84.95 points, to close at 5,714.02. Total volume reached 1.3 billion shares valued at ₱6 billion.
Gainers outnumbered losers—102 to 86, with 50 stocks unchanged.
Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), explained that bargain hunting, better performance among listed companies, foreign purchases, and lower interest rates were factors in the recent valuations.
Despite this upward trend, which countered the three-day decline, Ricafort noted that Wednesday’s PSEi close is “still among the lowest in more than five years, or since May 28, 2020.”
He also mentioned that net foreign buying in the past six trading days, along with recent declines in local interest rate benchmarks, could help lower borrowing costs and support economic growth.
“The PSEi also corrected higher lately after United States (US) stock markets again mostly gained for the third straight day, by 0.2 to 1.2 percent, to near record highs, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average at new record highs, amid progress on possible end of the US government shutdown,” Ricafort elaborated.
Luis Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital Development Corp., also noted that the local stock market rebounded amid the recent weakening of the peso against the US dollar.
“The recovery came despite the peso weakening to the ₱59 per US dollar level again, reflecting continued external pressure. Overall, sentiment improved slightly as traders looked for short-term gains amid oversold market conditions,” he said.
On the other hand, high stock prices caused artificial intelligence (AI)-related stocks to fall.
“Other AI-related stocks declined as concerns resurfaced about the sector’s elevated valuations,” he said.
The top gaining sectors in the market were the services sector at 2.66 percent and the financial sector at 2.25 percent.