3 more firms may tap IPO market this year - PSE President Sicat

Three more companies in the manufacturing and industrial sectors may tap the IPO market this year, following Golden Haven and Cemex Holdings Philippines, PSE President Hans Sicat told Bloomberg TV Philippines.

“Directly in our pipeline are about three more in addition to the Cemex offering. Meaning, in different stages of preparation that we know of. There have been more discussions of others but I’m not sure where they are in the process,” Sicat told Bloomberg TV Philippines.

Golden Haven, the first memorial park to list in the local bourse, raised P790 million from selling shares for the first time to the public last month. It re-opened the IPO market after a seven-month lull. Cement maker Cemex followed Golden Haven and raised P21.84 billion pesos. Cemex will list in the PSE on Monday, April 18.

With the revitalization of the IPO market, other forms of share sales including private placements are also taking off, Sicat said at the sidelines of Security Bank's 65th year anniversary celebration Wednesday night.

“We're hoping by the way that in general it'll be more fundraising; maybe not just IPOs. There's a lot of private placements and follow-on offerings. We've said that we hope to target a total of P200 billion worth for this year. Of course most of these will be coming in the second half (of this year). If the pace is very active then I think we'll be able to meet that (P200 billion fund-raising forecast). There's a lot of optimism right now,” he said.

Investor concerns about the May presidential elections and volatile global markets prompted some companies to hold off their IPO plans earlier this year. But with the May 9 polls over, and with global markets stabilizing after Brexit and signals from the Fed that it won’t raise rates anytime soon helped calm investor nerves.

Sicat is also upbeat about the local stock market after the PSE index reached 8,000 levels for the first time this year on Wednesday. Volume of transactions has also picked up, he said.

“It’s always hard to predict (where the PSEi will settle). For us, probably the bigger news is volumes are back,” said Sicat. “We're just essentially where we were before the market volatility started and it means that there's more activity and interest in the market from both local and foreign investors.”

The local bourse ended flat yesterday at 7,944.02, after hitting an intra-day high of 8,005.73 in the early morning trade. Some analysts are predicting the index may end the year at 8,200.

- Interaksyon

PH stock market touches 7,000-mark, as investors look forward to 2Q corporate results

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) flirted with the 7,000 level on Monday, as investors looked ahead to corporate earnings, encouraged by a resilient local market despite a string of overseas concerns.

At the Philippine Stock Exchange, the bellwether PSEi peaked at 7,005.71 before trimming its gain to settle at 6,998.37, higher by 104.14 points or 1.51 percent from last Friday's close.

All counters finished in the green, gaining at least 0.81 percent. The mining and oil sector jumped 2.37 percent and the property sub-index rallied to 2.16 percent to pace the market's gains.

Advancers dominated decliners, 122 to 55, while 46 issues were unchanged. Value turnover improved to P10.52 billion from P7.15 billion last Friday, as 2.305 billion shares changed hands.

Most actively traded stocks were PLDT, SM Investments, Alliance Global, Ayala Land and Bloomberry. Top gainers were Jolliville, iRipple and Manila Mining B, while the biggest losers were Primex, Seafront Resources and Atok-Big Wedge.

"As we consolidated in recent weeks, the Philippine market held resilient above 6,800 amid an eventful world stage which caused international market weakness. Investors were cautious coming into last week's rate hike and that helped most of the market price in the impending development,” said Gab Aguila, equity analyst at DA Market Securities Inc.

“Now, on the base of a resilient [support level] with the rate hike accounted for and with earnings releases so far positive, the market has regained its confidence," Aguila added.

Local share prices overcame the P1.85-billion net selling position of foreign funds against a backdrop of mixed Asian markets on geopolitical risks in Israel and Ukraine as well as soft economic data from the world's two largest economies.

"This is one of our better trading days so there's room for profit taking, but if you're a foreign fund, the Philippines is still more attractive compared to other markets," said Luis Limlingan, head of business development at Regina Capital Development Corp.

The US economy added 209,000 jobs last month, below expectations of 233,000, while the unemployment rate picked up to 6.2 percent from 6.1 percent. Data over the weekend showed growth in China's services sector slowed to a six-month low in July.

Financial troubles in Portugal and Argentina and worries on how quickly the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates dragged US stocks last Friday, sending the Standard & Poor's 500 index to its worst weekly loss in more than two years last week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 69.93 points, 0.43 percent, to close at 16,493.37, while the S&P 500 dipped 5.52 points, or 0.29 percent, to finish at 1,925.15.

- Interaksyon

PSEi hits 7,000 after global stocks reach all-time high

The Philippine Stock Exchange index on Monday rode on the momentum of last week’s rally to claw its way back above the 7,000 mark on Monday morning.

At the Philippine Stock Exchange, the benchmark index was trading at 7,012.52 as of 11:16 am, up 50.24 points or 0.72 percent.

The composite index is poised for its highest finish since closing at 7,021.95 on May 31, 2013, or near levels when former Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke hinted that the central bank may unwind its massive stimulus program.

"Market action is continuously fuelled by technical momentum supported by slower-than-expected inflation and regional market strength in the US and European regions," said Gab Aguila, equity analyst at DA Market Securities.

Last week, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed inflation hit 4.4 percent in June, near the upper end of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) forecast of 4.1-4.5 percent. However, the June figure was slower than the 4.5 percent registered in May and market consensus of 4.6 percent.

Regional markets were also upbeat after the US economy added 288,000 new jobs in June, dragging the unemployment rate to 6.1 percent.

Both data powered the PSEi past the 6,900 mark last week.

"However, we're not out of the woods yet as the market is trading ahead of concrete second quarter earnings and government data releases to truly justify the market prices," Aguila said.

"We are also optimistic that the market will be sustained higher than the recent consolidation range when it corrects as we're now seeing first half 2014 laggards pick up some uptrending momentum," he added.

Last week, global stocks reached record high, thanks to a week of strong US economic data and promises from the European Central Bank that cheap money will be sloshing around for years. European shares were marginally in the red as the dust settled from Thursday's forecast-busting U.S. jobs data and ECB meeting, with investors taking the opportunity to lock in profits after the biggest week of gains since March.

A new three-year peak for Asian stocks overnight meant MSCI's All World share index, which tracks 45 countries, set its fourth consecutive record high, while the dollar, U.S. bond yields and growth-sensitive copper were also up for the week.

"Markets keep going up," said Daniel McCormack an equities strategist at Macquarie Capital in London. "The world is still awash with money and a lot of it is still coming into equities."

With Wall Street closed for Independence Day celebrations markets were quieter than usual but there were still pockets of movement.

Yields on lower-rated euro zone bonds continued to fall as analysts combed the details of new long-term loans the ECB has lined up for banks, and after it said on Thursday it stood ready to print money if needed. [GVD/EUR]

The ECB will give banks the opportunity to borrow up to 1 trillion euros for four years at a rate of only 0.25 percent from September in the hope they will lend some of that money to businesses and consumers.

"More liquidity in the system is a boost for bonds," said Peter Chatwell, fixed income strategist at Credit Agricole.

Portuguese bonds though, which have underperformed this week due to concerns about an investigation into holding companies of the country's largest bank, were still off the pace.

Stocks in Lisbon also took another tumble, down 1.1 percent on the day and one of only a handful of indexes in the world staring at a fourth straight week in the red.

The biggest loser of the day was Austria though.

Vienna's ATX index dropped over 3 percent as Erste bank, the third-biggest lender in eastern Europe, plunged 15 percent after warning problems in Romania and Hungary would drive it to a record loss.

Weak oil

Oil and safe-haven favourite gold were also under pressure as the unrest in Iraq and between Ukraine in Russia - supportive factors for both in recent weeks - remained in a lull.

The Iraqi army retook Saddam Hussein's home village overnight, while former Iraqi parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi said he would not run for another term, a move that should make it easier for the Shi'ite parties to replace Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki with someone more widely accepted.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also called for better relations with the United States on Friday in a congratulatory message to President Barack Obama marking U.S. Independence Day.

Brent crude dipped back below $111 a barrel and was set to post its biggest weekly loss since early January. U.S. oil futures were down for a seventh straight day and heading for their longest such run since 2009. [O/R]

"Supply fears are easing somewhat, but Iraq is setting a high floor on prices," said Victor Shum, vice-president of energy consultancy IHS Energy Insight.

Landmark week

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan ended up 0.2 percent, touching its highest levels since May 2011 after a weekly gain of 1.7 percent.

Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.6 percent to hit a 5-1/2-month high, and gained 2.3 percent for the week.

It came after U.S. employment growth smashed forecasts and unemployment fell to near a six-year low of 6.1 percent, effectively dispelling fears about the economy's health after a weather-hit start to the year.

The report helped the Dow Jones industrial average pass the 17,000 milestone and the benchmark S&P 500 rise to within 1 percent of the 2,000 level.

U.S. Treasury yields hit a two-month high, which in turn burnished the dollar's appeal. The benchmark 10-year yield ended at 2.64 percent after going as high at 2.69 percent. Treasuries weren't trading on Friday.

The dollar was though and it was at a one-week peak against a basket of rivals despite being a touch softer against the yen at 102.05 yen.

The ECB's loose talk nudged the euro lower to $1.3589 leaving traders wondering whether long-held bets on a rise in the dollar could finally start to pay out.

"It is very fair to say that nobody got the first half of the year right, but I think the second half of the year will be much more in line with what people expected," said Kerry Craig, a global markets strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management.

- Interaksyon

PH stock market advances after positive manufacturing data out of China, U.S.

Philippine share prices advanced on Wednesday, inspired by the overnight gains on Wall Street following positive manufacturing reports in China and the US, but were reigned in by cautiousness ahead of the release of the June inflation data.

At the Philippine Stock Exchange, the benchmark index climbed 23.99 points, or 0.35 percent, to close at 6,850.60. Except for the property sector, the other counters posted modest gains with the financials index leading the way with an increase of 0.74 percent.

Advancers narrowly beat decliners, 95 to 93, while 40 issues were unchanged. Value turnover picked up to P7.03 billion from yesterday's P5 billion, as 3.18 billion shares changed hands.

Most actively traded stocks were PLDT, Ayala Land, Ayala Corp, BDO and Alliance Global. The topt gainers were Apex A, iRipple and Manila Mining A, while the biggest losers were Bogo Medellin, Greenergy and Primex.

"Trading stayed slack throughout the day as investors groped for leads. Optimism crept back cautiously however, keeping the index in the green," said Jun Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp.

“Investors may also be holding back ahead of the June inflation report due out this week,” Calaycay added.

Lending optimism to the local market was the positive performance on Wall Street and regional markets buoyed by favorable manufacturing data from the world's two biggest economies. Chinese manufacturing grew at its fastest pace this year in June, while the US factory index barely changed at 55.3 in June from 55.4 in the prior month.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial came within a few points from the 17,000 level for the first time, rallying 129.47 points, or 0.8 percent, to 16,956.07. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 0.7 percent to 1,973.32.

"Absent new leads overnight, we can expect the market to stay on an even keel driven mostly by a balance of both long-term accumulation and short-term liquidity options. Both hinges on the release of inflation data," Calaycay said.

- Interaksyon

Iraq conflict weighs on PH stock market

Philippine share prices tumbled on Friday as violence in Iraq triggered profit-taking in the local equities market.

At the Philippine Stock Exchange, the benchmark index shed 24.23 points, or 0.36 percent, to close at 6,784.95. The mining and oil counter gave up 1.18 percent to pull all counters in the red.

Decliners beat advancers, 121 to 57, while 41 issues were unchanged. Value turnover improved to P7.76 billion from P7.61 billion last Wednesday, as 1.84 billion shares changed hands. The market was closed yesterday for the Independence celebration.

The most actively traded stocks were BDO, Ayala Corp, SM Investments, Universal Robina and Alliance Global. IRipple, Da Vinci Capital and I-Remit were the top gainers, while Now Corp, Island Information and Abacore Capital were the biggest losers.

The local market tracked the overnight weakness on Wall Street with the S&P 500 dropping 0.7 percent to 1,930.11 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 109.69 points, or 0.7 percent, to 16,734.19.

Three years after US troops pulled out of OPEC's second-biggest oil producer, violence is again on the rise in Iraq, threatening to escalate into an all-out sectarian conflict and pusing oil prices to an 8-month high.

- Interaksyon

PH stock market rebounds near 6,800-mark

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) made a strong comeback a day after it plummeted, weighed down by negative news overseas and investor concerns about the market's high valuations.

At the noon break, the PSEi was up 37.52 points, or 0.56 percent, at 6,799.90. It shot back to the 6,800-mark in early trading before paring gains.

All sub-indices were in the green, with the industrials counter climbing 0.87 percent to lead the market's rebound.

The most actively traded stocks were BDO, Puregold, Ayala, PLDT and LT Group. Top gainers were Da Vinci Capital, Central Azucarera and Oriental Petroleum, while the biggest losers were ATN Holdings, Ever-Gotesco and South China Resources.

According to BDO chief market strategist Jonathan Ravels, support exists at the 6,750 level, adding that if this holds, the market could re-test the 6,900-mark.

 

- Interaksyon

Foreign buying lifts PH stock market to highest so far this year

The Philippine benchmark index on Wednesday settled at record levels for the year, driven by strong foreign buying and the record performance of US equities overnight.

At the Philippine Stock Exchange, the composite index advanced 27.63 points, or 0.40 percent, to close at 6,880.44, its highest finish since closing at 7,021.95 on May 31, 2013, or near levels before former Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke hinted that the US central bank may unwind its massive stimulus program.

The bellwether PSEi peaked at 6,906.63 in early trading until pockets of profit-taking kicked in. Foreign investors went into buying territory with net purchases worth P2.86 billion.

Profit-taking was felt in the mining and oil, as well as financial counters, which shed one percent and 0.75 percent, respectively. The property index gained 0.77 percent, the industrial index added 71 points and the services index rose 0.32 percent to drive the market higher.

There were two decliners for every advancer, while 51 issues were unchanged. Value turnover improved to P14.05 billion from yesterday's P9.70 billion, as 2.34 billion shares changed hands.

Most actively traded stocks were Metrobank, Ayala Land, Alliance Global, Emperador and PLDT. The top gainers were Pancake House, Globalport and DoubleDragon, while the biggest losers were Da Vinci Capital, Berjaya Philippines and Bright Kindle Resources.

"The momentum of last week’s breach of the 6,800 mark continues to flow with the PSEi testing the 6,900 psychological resistance inside the first hour off the opening bell. Even as value activity still favor index-component counters, we are seeing the stirrings of flows into off-index, including what may be considered third tier issues," said Jun Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp.

Calaycay noted that market debutants DoubleDragon and Century Pacific as well as Cyber Bay and 8990 Holdings have entered the Top 20 by value turnover, suggesting growing concerns over valuation vis-a-vis current price levels for blue chips and some second-line issues.

Overnight, US equities barely moved after retail sales rose by the biggest since March 2010. The S&P 500 added less than one point to 1,897.45, closing for a second consecutive time at record levels. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied for a fifth straight session, rising 19.97 points, or 0.1 percent, to 16,715.44.

- Interakyson