PHILIPPINE SHARES rose further on Tuesday to return above the 5,800 level, supported by continued bargain hunting and the market debut of GCash parent Mynt, Inc.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed by 0.14% or 8.27 points to close at 5,806.17, while the broader all shares index inched up by 0.02% or 0.70 point to 3,234.18.
This was the benchmark index’s best finish in over three weeks or since it closed at 5,825.97 on Sept. 25.
“The local market’s sideways movement ended in the positive territory as investors continued with their bargain hunting. With its latest climb, the market was able to close above the 5,800 resistance level,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Manager Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.
COL Financial Group, Inc. Research Analyst Denise Joaquin said the market closed broadly unchanged on Tuesday as gains in select large-cap stocks offset losses in others.
“The local market closed flat on Tuesday, as gains in heavyweights SM (SM Investments Corp.) and SMPH (SM Prime Holdings, Inc.) offset the drag from ICT (International Container Terminal Services, Inc.). Turnover, excluding block sales of GCASH’s secondary initial public offering (IPO) shares, jumped to P8.6 billion, with GCASH accounting for about half of the total at P4.3 billion,” she said in a Viber message.
“The next few trading sessions should provide a clearer indication of whether the stock can hold this level and whether strong IPO demand during the offer period translates into sustained buying interest in the secondary market,” Ms. Joaquin added.
SM shares rose by P13 or 2.4% to close at P555 apiece, while SMPH went up by 40 centavos or 2.3% to P17.80. Meanwhile, shares in ICT dropped by P10 or 1.18% to P840 each.
Mynt debuted on the stock exchange on Tuesday under the ticker symbol GCASH following a historic P60.9-billion IPO. Its shares opened the trading session at P6.63, 0.45% above its IPO price of P6.60, which was its close for the day. It reached an intraday high of P6.76.
Most sectoral indices closed in the green. Holding firms rose by 1.46% or 62.96 points to 4,361.52; property increased by 0.89% or 16.17 points to 1,823.92; industrial went up by 0.5% or 37.59 points to 7,505.94; and financials climbed by 0.13% or 2.45 points to 1,822.13.
Meanwhile, mining and oil dropped by 2.13% or 410.26 points to 18,851.31, and services went down by 1.31% or 39.75 points to 2,995.78.
Decliners outnumbered advancers, 105 to 84, while 69 names were unchanged.
Value turnover rose to P58.90 billion on Tuesday with 8.97 billion shares traded from the P5.87 billion with 828.22 million issues that changed hands on Monday.
Net foreign selling ballooned to P11.39 billion from the P70.66 million in the previous session. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno