The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) made a strong bounce on Monday, Dec. 22, and recovered last Friday’s lost ground on the back of bargain-hunting and some window-dressing for the year’s end.
The main index jumped by 120.39 points, or 2.03 percent, to close at 6,041.26, with the advance across the board led by the services and mining sectors due to the strength of Razon-led International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) and gold prices.
Volume was hefty at 7.16 billion shares worth ₱8.28 billion, as gainers outnumbered losers—130 to 69, with 57 unchanged.
“The PSEi rebounded after ending in the red last Friday, as bargain-hunting lifted the market. Trading remained relatively cautious, but the index finished higher with the peso seen holding at around ₱58 against the United States (US) dollar ahead of the holidays,” said Regina Capital Development Corp. managing director Luis Limlingan.
Philstocks Financial Inc. research manager Japhet Tantiangco said, “The local market bounced back as investors hunted for bargains following two straight days of decline. The positive cues from Wall Street’s closing performance last week also helped in Monday’s session.”
For AB Capital Securities Inc., “the PSEi rebounded to the 6,000 level after last Friday’s 1.8-percent FTSE-driven drop, supported by selective recovery in recently sold down names, though conviction stayed limited as net foreign selling stretched to a 17th day.
“However, foreign buying boosted ICTSI, BDO Unibank Inc., and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI).”
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort said the PSEi completely erased the previous trading day’s 1.8-percent decline, which led to some bargain-hunting opportunities for some long-term investors.
He also cited some possible window-dressing activities, as there are three more remaining business days to go for 2025 before the accounting year-end as well as the better balance of payments (BOP) data.