PSEi inches up ahead of US Fed meet

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) saw muted gains on Tuesday, mirroring the caution seen across the region ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate meeting.

By the closing bell, the PSEi rose 0.17 percent, or 13.05 points, to 7,922.04 while the broader all-shares index was up 0.06 percent, or 2.78 points, to 4,845.50.

Subsectors were a mixed bag. Property, financials as well as mining and oil ended in the red while holding firms, industrials and services rose by the closing bell.

A total of 1.66 billion shares valued at P7.96 billion changed hands yesterday. There were 96 gainers against 100 decliners while 54 companies closed unchanged.

The Ty family’s Metropolitan Bank and Trust was the most actively traded on Tuesday as it gained 1.4 percent to P72.60 per share.

It was followed by Ayala Land Inc., down 1.19 percent to P49.90; Ayala Corp., up 0.06 percent to P900; BDO Unibank Inc., up 0.22 percent to P138.20; and SM Prime Holdings, down 0.52 percent to P38.10 per share.

Other actively traded stocks were PLDT Inc., down 1.42 percent to P1,178; International Container Terminal Services, up 2.14 percent to P147.80; GT Capital Holdings, up 3.47 percent to P880; Jollibee Foods Corp., unchanged at 282; and Universal Robina Corp., up 2.29 percent to P173.90 per share.