Covid-19 cure hopes buoy bourse
Credit to Author: Jordeene B. Lagare| Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2020 17:15:16 +0000
PHILIPPINE shares surged on Wednesday as investors were buoyed by news of a potential cure for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and earnings by certain listed companies.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed by 1.01 percent or 74.05 points to end at 7,396.94, while the wider All Shares rose by 0.49 percent or 21.11 points to finish at 4,362.09.
“The market rallied on market on close (MOC) transaction amid the news of a possible cure for Covid-19 and also we think that corporate earnings have weighted in the market,” Philstocks Financial Inc. client engagement officer and research associate Piper Chaucer Tan said in a text message.
“Corporate earnings shows the strong fundamentals… and this triggered bargain hunting for investors especially on the large-cap stocks,” he added.
Regina Capital Development Corp. managing director Luis Limlingan said some investors were prompted to give the country “a chance for bargain hunting” as the new number of Covid-19 cases declined in China.
“Some investors have given the country a chance for bargain-hunting as new Covid-19 cases in China continued to fall with markets less [focused] on the outbreak,” Limlingan said in a text message.
AAA Equities head of research Christopher Mangun said the majority of Asian markets gained, following a decrease in the number of people affected by the virus outbreak.
“A lack of selling pressure allowed regular buying to take prices of blue chip issues higher than usual. This may be because we have been seeing foreign inflows in the last couple of days,” Mangun said.
Similar to the local stock market scene, most Asian stocks ended in the green. Tokyo and Hong Kong surged by 0.89 percent and 0.46 percent, respectively. But Shanghai lost 0.15 percent.
In Manila, sectoral results were all in the green, with holding firms increasing by 1.17 percent. Services and industrial trailed at 1.16 percent and 1.15 percent, respectively.
Over 621 million shares, valued at P6.489 billion, were traded.
Winners beat losers, 101-91, while 48 issues were unchanged.