Stock investors play safe ahead of key rate tweaks

Philippine stocks slipped as investors stayed on the sidelines a day before the policy meeting of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) closed 0.29 percent down, shedding 22.30 points to 7,555.27 on Wednesday while the broader all-shares index was down 0.19 percent, or 8.84 points, to 4,620.49.

Wednesday’s session was notable in that traded volume dropped significantly, signaling that investors were taking a cautious approach. A total of 1.2 billion shares valued at P4.9 billion changed hands yesterday. There were 113 decliners against 73 gainers, while 59 companies closed unchanged.

Data from the PSE showed that subindices were mixed. Industrial and property were the top gainers, each up 0.38 percent and 0.31 percent, respectively. Mining and oil also closed higher by 0.12 percent.

The biggest loser was the financials subindex, which dropped 1.38 percent. Services and holding firms were down 0.93 percent and 0.14 percent, respectively.

Shopping mall operator SM Prime Holdings Inc. was the most actively traded on Wednesday. It gained 1.18 percent to P34.30 per share.

It was followed by BDO Unibank Inc., down 1.10 percent to P126.10; Metropolitan Bank & Trust; down 1.21 percent to P81.50; International Container Terminal Services, down 2.29 percent to P81; and Metro Pacific Investments Corp., up 3.65 percent to P5.40 per share.