Stocks rise on PMI data and upbeat Q2 results from companies

PHILIPPINE SHARES rose on Tuesday amid improved second-quarter results from listed companies and the continued expansion of manufacturing activity in the country.

The leading index of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSEi) rose 50.27 points, or 0.79%, to close at 6,362.30 on Tuesday, while the broader all-shares index rose 18.67 points, or 0.55%, to 3,411.59 rose.

“Philippine stocks rose sharply towards the end of the session as investors bought up some of the index’s heavyweights as corporate earnings improved and global oil prices began to fall,” said Marc Kebinson L. Lood, head of online trading at Timson Securities , Inc., in a Viber message.

“The local stock exchange gained 50.27 points [or] 0.80% to 6,362.30 on the back of strong earnings results so far, particularly from index members,” Claire T. Alviar, research analyst at Philstocks Financial, Inc., said in a Viber message.

Ms. Alviar added that market sentiment was also boosted by the latest report from the S&P Global Philippines Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) showing that factory activity remained in expansion territory.

Philippine manufacturing activity slowed in July as production and new orders fell, suggesting weaker global demand, S&P Global said on Monday.

The S&P Global Philippines Manufacturing PMI read 50.8 in July, down from 53.8 in June.

A PMI reading above 50 indicates an improvement in operating conditions compared to the previous month, while a reading below 50 signals a deterioration.

Most industry indices ended in the green on Tuesday, except for holding companies, which lost 1.61 points or 0.02% to close at 6,013.80.

Meanwhile, Mining and Oil gained 309.78 points, or 2.71%, to close at 11,717.76; Services rose 37.89 points, or 2.31%, to 1,678.22; Real estate climbed 28.25 points, or 0.98%, to 2,890.37; Industrials rose 72.40 points, or 0.77%, to 9,422.90; and Financials rose 5.69 points, or 0.38%, to 1,488.08.

Value turnover rose to 5.87 billion pesos on Tuesday, with 528.35 million shares changing hands, from 5.13 billion pesos with 396.95 million issues seen on Monday.

The decliners narrowly outnumbered the climbers, 84 versus 80, while 61 names closed unchanged.

Foreigners turned buyers, posting P36.44 million in net purchases on Tuesday versus P288.40 million in net sales the previous trading day.

Timson Securities’ Mr Lood said investors are looking forward to the release of the Philippines’ July inflation report on Friday, further corporate earnings and the latest US jobs data, also due on Friday. He put PSEi’s support at 5,900 and resistance at 6,800.

Meanwhile, Philstocks Financial’s Ms Alviar placed PSEi’s support within 6100-6150 and resistance at 6400.

“[The] The sustainability of the rally is still in question given weak market participation and rising US-China geopolitical tensions,” Ms. Alviar said. — JID table