Stock market up on bargain hunting; ICTSI, DITO advance

The stock market bounced back Tuesday on bargain hunting after two days of losses, with blue chips leading advances.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index surged 149.97 points, or 2.4 percent, to 6,522.58 on a value turnover of P4.3 billion. Gainers outnumbered losers, 155 to 43, with 29 issues unchanged.

International Container Terminal Services Inc., the biggest port operator and owned by tycoon Enrique Razon Jr., climbed 5.8 percent to P163, while DITO CME Holdings Corp., the third major telecommunications firm, advanced 7.4 percent to P7.50.

Major property developer Ayala Land Inc. of the Ayala Group rose 4.2 percent to P33.85, while BDO Unibank Inc. of the Sy Group, the largest lender in terms of assets, increased 4 percent to P106.40.

Hong Kong, meanwhile, led a sell-off across most Asian markets Tuesday, extending the previous day’s losses as traders were spooked by China’s latest crackdown on a range of industries.

New regulations on China’s tutorial sector—which has decimated private education firms—along with more moves against tech firms and fresh rules for property and food delivery companies has traders worrying where Beijing will strike next, analysts said.

That comes against a backdrop of rising concerns about the fast-spreading Delta coronavirus variant and the slow rollout of vaccines, with some governments having to impose new lockdowns or other containment measures.

Meanwhile, the highest-level China-US talks under the Biden administration ended without much headway in resolving their differences, suggesting tensions between the two superpowers will continue to simmer.

Hong Kong sank more than four percent to match Monday’s drop with investors running for cover after Beijing’s latest move to tighten its grip on the economy. 

At the weekend, China said it would prevent firms that teach school curriculums from making a profit, raising capital or going public, making them virtually uninvestable.

Officials also looked to wind in tech giant Tencent, while unveiling new rules to protect hard-pressed drivers in the delivery business.

“China’s regulatory uncertainty is not going away,” said Rodrigo Catril at National Australia Bank.

“Indeed it looks to be broadening, with no clarity as to when and where it will end.”

In Hong Kong, firms caught in the regulatory sweep fell further, though the losses for education firms were not as stark as on Monday.

Among tech firms taking a hit was Tencent, which was told by officials to relinquish its exclusive music label rights over apparent antitrust breaches.

It dropped 10 percent, while Alibaba shed more than six percent. Food delivery firm Meituan lost more than 17 percent.

There were also losses in Shanghai, Singapore, Mumbai, Wellington, Bangkok, Jakarta and Taipei, but Tokyo, Sydney and Seoul rose.

CMB International Securities strategist Daniel So added: “The key concern now is whether regulators will do more and expand the crackdown to other sectors.

“The regulatory concerns will be the key overhang to the market for the second half.”

The downbeat mood in Asia was in stark contrast to Wall Street, where all three main indexes finished at record highs yet again, thanks to more healthy corporate earnings and a long-running belief that the long-term outlook for the economy remains strong. With AFP