PSEi up in cautious trade before Trump deadline

PHILIPPINE STOCKS inched up on Tuesday as the market maintained a cautious stance while awaiting developments in the Middle East conflict.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed by 0.16% or 9.54 points to close at 5,957.87, while the broader all shares index went up by 0.39% or 13.17 points to end at 3,350.16.

“The local market traded sideways as investors digested the Philippines’ March inflation rate which came in at 4.1%, exceeding the government’s 2%-4% target. In the end, however, bargain hunting prevailed, causing the local bourse to have a positive close,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Manager Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a market note.

Oil price shocks due to the Middle East war caused Philippine headline inflation to quicken to its fastest pace in 20 months in March, settling at 4.1% from 2.4% in February and 1.8% in the same month last year.

This was above the 3.8% median estimate in a BusinessWorld poll of 18 analysts and the central bank’s 3.1%-3.9% forecast for the month.

“The second half of trading buoyed the market barely in positive territory following mixed signals from Trump, which put investors on their toes as they await definitive actions that could push the global markets in either direction,” AP Securities, Inc. said in a market note.

Global stocks wavered on Tuesday, while oil prices edged above $110 per barrel as the looming deadline imposed by US President Donald J. Trump for a deal with Iran threatened escalation in the Middle East and spooked investors, Reuters reported.

Markets have been rattled since the US-Israeli war on Iran broke out at the end of February, with Tehran effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit chokepoint, that has spurred inflation worries.

While investors have pinned their hopes on a resolution to the war, the talks so far have yielded no progress, with Mr. Trump imposing a Tuesday night deadline for a deal to be reached.

Most sectoral indices closed higher on Tuesday. Mining and oil jumped by 1.85% or 301.34 points to 16,572.80; financials rose by 0.58% or 10.91 points to 1,885.43; holding firms advanced by 0.57% or 26.84 points to 4,658.96; and services climbed by 0.32% or 8.72 points to 2,699.96.

Meanwhile, property went down by 0.33% or 6.63 points to 1,981.44, and industrials retreated by 0.13% or 11.39 points to 8,773.43.

“DigiPlus Interactive Corp. was the day’s index leader, jumping 5.44% to P15.88. Century Pacific Food, Inc. was the worst index performer, dropping 3.45% to P32.20,” Mr. Tantiangco said.

Advancers outnumbered decliners, 120 to 76, while 65 names closed unchanged.

Value turnover climbed to P5.82 billion on Tuesday with 1.27 billion shares traded from the P5.55 billion with 816.79 million issues that changed hands on Monday.

Net foreign selling decreased to P992.33 million from P1.05 billion in the previous session. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno with Reuters