By Revin Mikhael D. Ochave, Reporter
PHILIPPINE SHARES closed higher on Thursday as market sentiment was lifted after the Democratic Party gained control of the United States (US) Senate and on the better showing of US markets.
Ending its two-day skid, the 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) improved by 71.76 points or 1.01% to close at 7,119.61, while the broader all shares index rose 41.35 points or 0.97% to end at 4,271.49.
Timson Securities, Inc. Head of Online Trading Darren Blaine T. Pangan said in a mobile phone message that the market ended in positive territory as the Democratic party secured control of the US Senate.
Reuters reported that two US Senate seats in runoff elections in Georgia were swept by Democrats as Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock were projected as the winners in their respective Senate races on Wednesday.
The sweep gave the Democratic Party control of both chambers of Congress and the White House for the first time in a decade.
“Moreover, investors may have picked up bargain shares as the index ended just above the 7,000 mark yesterday (Wednesday),” Mr. Pangan said.
For Philstocks Financial, Inc. Senior Research Analyst Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco, the market ended in green territory as investors took cues from the performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA).
On Wednesday, the DJIA and S&P 500 indices increased 1.44% and 0.57%, while the Nasdaq Composite index fell by 0.61%.
“The local bourse also climbed as bargain hunters took advantage of the market’s prior two straight days of decline,” Mr. Tantiangco said in a mobile phone message.
All sectoral indices edged up at the close of Thursday’s trading. Financials soared by 59.1 points or 4.28% to 1,439.47; mining and oil went up 372.16 points or 3.84% to 10,052.91; services climbed 13.01 points or 0.86% to 1,516.21; holding firms increased 41.98 points or 0.58% to 7,269.76; property went up 5.87 points or 0.16% to 3,685.05; and industrials gained 7.1 points or 0.07% to 9,462.3.
Advancers bested decliners, 159 against 72, while 31 names ended unchanged.
Value turnover on Thursday reached P8.73 billion with 46.43 billion issues switching hands, lower than the P11.91 billion with 22.68 billion issues seen in the previous trading session.
Net foreign selling declined to P680.38 million yesterday from the net P685.39 million that left the market on Wednesday.
“Before the weekend, we’ll have to see if 7,000 holds. Otherwise, 7,300 may be considered the nearest resistance area,” Timson Securities’ Mr. Pangan said.