Investors find safe space in PH stocks as Asian markets take beating

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose on Thursday, buoyed by month-end window dressing.

The PSEi went up 0.5 percent, or 38.8 points, to 7,836.55 while the broader all-shares index was up 0.36 percent, or 17.27 points, to 4,822.06.

“It was a combination of early window dressing, and investors seeking refuge from regional markets … in the Philippines,” Luis Gerardo Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital Development, said yesterday.

Subsectors, meanwhile, came in mixed on Thursday.

Leading gainers were financials and industrial stocks, which gained 1.44 percent and 1.37 percent, respectively. Property stocks declined 0.2 percent, while mining and oil was down 0.12 percent.

Data from the PSE showed a total of 694.77 million shares valued at P6.57 billion changed hands on Thursday. There were 97 gainers and 80 losers while 53 companies closed unchanged.

Property giant Ayala Land Inc. was the most actively traded as it lost 0.62 percent to P48.20 per share.

It was followed by SM Prime Holdings, down 0.51 percent to P39; Ayala Corp., up 1.11 percent to P909; Megaworld Corp., up 5.34 percent to P5.92; and BDO Unibank Inc., up 2.4 percent to P136.70 per share.