PSEi shrugs off first day of ECQ

The local bourse ended in the green on Monday despite the first day of the reimplementation of stricter quarantine measures in the capital region and its neighboring provinces.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed 0.97 percent or 63.15 points to 6,607.78, while the broader All Shares gained 0.51 percent or 20.30 points to finish at 3,988.09.

AAA Equities head of research Christopher Mangun said the market remained resilient despite opening with substantial losses.

“The optimism may be coming from the government’s commitment to the economy’s recovery despite the recent setback,” Mangun explained.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Sunday announced the reimplementation of enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal from March 29 to April 4.

Longer curfew hours were also put in place in the areas, which would run from 6 pm to 5 am.

The areas were placed under stringent restrictions again as the number of local pandemic cases continue to rise.

Mangun said the tightened quarantine restrictions prompted panic selling in the beginning but buyers quickly picked up the shares at cheaper prices.

PSEi opened at 6,469.26 and fell to its intraday low of 6,432.07. It also peaked at 6,653.52 during the day.

“Despite the gains, we are not out of the woods yet as the main index is coming up against resistance at 6,600 to 6,700. We may see it give back some gains in the coming days,” Mangun noted.

Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis Limlingan, meanwhile, attributed the gains to the recently signed Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises or Create Act, which is seen supporting economic recovery.

Limlingan added that the shares also rallied amid the improvement the US markets saw on Friday.

The Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose 1.39 percent, 1.66 percent and 1.24 percent, respectively.

Most local sectors survived with property leading at 2.21 percent, while the mining and oil and industrial indices slipped by 0.5 percent and 0.29 percent, respectively.

Total volume turnover was at 2.88 billion shares valued at P7.27 billion.

Losers edged out winners, 116 to 97, while 44 securities were unchanged.