PSEi slightly up

The local stock barometer firmed up on Monday, aided by some foreign buying and month-end window-dressing activities.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index added 18.54 points or 0.24 percent to close at 7,886.03.

“Philippine market kicked off the last few days of May in the green after taking a momentary breather last Friday as window dressing started,” said Luis Gerardo Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital Development.

Limlingan said markets welcomed the release of real GDP (gross domestic product) growth in the US, which had been revised up by five tenths to +1.2 percent for the first quarter. “Relative to forecasts, the upside came from a larger-than expected revision to business fixed investment, though personal consumption was also revised up meaningfully. In contrast, gross domestic income and corporate profits were relatively weak,” he said.

“The market is also factoring in specific economic market-moving cues. In particular. the key economic releases this week are the ISM manufacturing report on Thursday, and the employment report on Friday. In addition, there are several scheduled speaking engagements by (US Federal Reserve) Fed officials this week. The Beige Book for the June FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) period will be released on Wednesday,” he added.

At the local market, the day’s gains were led by the property counter which rose by 1.44 percent while the financial and industrial indices also slipped.

On the other hand, the holding firm, services and mining/oil counters all declined.

Total value turnover amounted to P8.6 billion. Foreigners were net buyers for the day to the tune of P674 million.

Market breadth was neutral as advancers equalled decliners (95 each).

The day’s most actively traded stock was newly listed Eagle Cement, which racked up 2 percent.

On the other hand, the PSEi has led higher by SM Prime and Petron, which both rose by over 2 percent, while Ayala Land, Megaworld and BDO all gained over 1 percent.

GT Capital, PLDT, Ayala Corp. and Metrobank all contributed gains.

Outside of the PSEi, another notable gainer was Pilipinas Shell, which rose by 2.8 percent.

On the other hand, URC fell by 1.02 percent while Security Bank also dipped.