PHILIPPINE SHARES bounced back on Monday as market sentiment improved due to factory activity data and the nearing arrival of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines in the country.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) improved 202.14 points or 3.05% to finish at 6,814.76 yesterday, while the broader all shares index rose 96.34 points or 2.4% to end at 4,103.67.
AAA Southeast Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun said in an e-mail that the local bourse closed higher as investor sentiment got a boost from positive manufacturing data.
“It was a very good day for the PSEi after it rallied more than 200 points. Aside from the technical bounce that we were already expecting, the sentiment got a boost from January manufacturing numbers,” Mr. Mangun said.
IHS Markit on Monday said the country’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 52.5 in January, higher than 49.2 in December. The figure moves past the 50-neutral mark that separates expansion from contraction.
Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message that the market improved as investors reacted to an announcement over the weekend regarding local COVID-19 vaccine distribution.
Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., the country’s vaccine czar, announced on Sunday that at least 5.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by Pfizer, Inc. and AstraZeneca PLC are expected to arrive in the Philippines in the first quarter of 2021.
Both vaccines have received emergency use approval from the local Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The government plans to procure 148 million doses of vaccines for 2021 to inoculate 70 million Filipinos.
“The market ended higher today as investors hunted for bargains after last week’s selloff, with some participants feeling optimistic that the year 2021 will be a year that the country will see positive economic growth,” Timson Securities, Inc. Head of Online Trading Darren Blaine T. Pangan said in a mobile phone message on Monday.
All sectoral indices at the PSE improved at the close of Monday’s trading. Property went up 154.28 points or 4.57% to 3,527.15; financials increased 43.44 points or 3.15% to 1,421.79; services climbed 45.27 points or 3.12% to 1,495.54; mining and oil gained 249.57 points or 3.04% to 8,437.39; industrials inched up 184.67 points or 2.14% to 8,811.67; and holding firms surged 123.34 points or 1.82% to 6,865.73.
Advancers bested decliners, 130 against 82, while 45 names ended unchanged.
Value turnover on Monday reached P9.98 billion with 32.11 billion issues switching hands, lower than the P11.8 billion with 41.76 billion shares traded in the previous session. Net foreign selling retreated to P1.19 billion from the P3.13 billion worth of net outflows logged on Friday.
“Support may be pegged at 6,500, while nearest resistance is at 7,300,” Mr. Pangan said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave