PSEi rebounds on bargain hunting, strong corporate earnings

MANILA, Philippines — The local stock market posted modest gains on Friday as investors hunted bargains and cheered strong corporate earnings, though caution kept trading subdued. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) rose 0.20 percent, or 12.40 points, to close at 6,290.35. Philstocks Financial Inc. attributed the advance mainly to bargain hunting, with investors also taking cues from the second-quarter and first-half results of select listed companies. In particular, the brokerage said earnings from Universal Robina Corp., Century Pacific Food Inc. and Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. helped lift sentiment during the session. Luis Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corp., said the local index ended higher as investors shrugged off the weaker-than-expected second-quarter gross domestic product print, with bargain hunting and selective buying supporting gains across key index names. “Market sentiment remained resilient as participants looked beyond the growth miss and focused on expectations of the next move of the central bank,” Limlingan said. Still, other market indicators pointed to continued caution among investors. Net value turnover stood at P6.09 billion, while market breadth remained negative. Decliners outnumbered advancers, 90 to 86. Foreign investors likewise remained on the selling side, recording net outflows of P327.51 million. Sectoral indices ended mixed, with property stocks leading the gainers after rising 0.99 percent. Banks were the day’s weakest sector, shedding 0.54 percent. Among index members, Ayala Land Inc. emerged as the session’s top performer, surging 6.14 percent to P16.26. On the other hand, recently listed Maynilad Water Services Inc. was the main index laggard, falling 1.49 percent to P18.48. /pai