Philippine equities extended their rally on Monday, buoyed by optimism over upcoming corporate earnings and continued bargain hunting despite renewed geopolitical risks pushing global oil prices higher.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index closed at 6,415.72, gaining 11.61 points or 0.18 percent. The broader all shares index rose 6.62 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 3,450.69.
The benchmark recorded a fourth consecutive session of gains and reached its highest close in over four months. The last comparable finish was on March 3, when the index ended at 6,445.38.
Trading opened at 6,435.12, improving from the prior session's close of 6,404.11. The index moved within a range of 6,415.72 to 6,478.71 during the day.
Market participants cited anticipation of the second-quarter corporate earnings season as a key driver of sentiment. Gains were tempered by profit-taking linked to rising oil prices and persistent geopolitical tensions.
Selective optimism kept the benchmark in positive territory even as external headwinds weighed on momentum. Investors continued to favor equities they viewed as undervalued ahead of financial results.
Concerns over geopolitical conflict and its impact on energy costs trimmed advances in the latter part of the session. Sustained buying of a major port operator provided crucial support to the index.
The index leader advanced 2.91 percent to 1,027.00, while the primary laggard declined 4.4 percent to 18.24. The divergence highlighted uneven participation across blue-chip names.
Four of six sectoral indices ended lower. Property fell 1.46 percent, holding firms dropped 0.82 percent, industrials slipped 0.57 percent, and financials eased 0.38 percent.
Mining and oil outperformed with a 3.85 percent gain, while the services sector rose 2.22 percent. The strength in commodity-linked shares reflected elevated oil price expectations.
Advancers outpaced decliners, 98 to 92, with 77 issues unchanged. Market breadth remained narrow despite the index's upward move.
Value turnover increased to 6.75 billion pesos on 538.96 million shares traded. This compared with 6.18 billion pesos on 902.96 million shares in the previous session.
Net foreign buying eased to 640.40 million pesos from 857.49 million pesos a day earlier. The slowdown in overseas inflows coincided with cautious late-session trading.
