Index ends slightly down

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) was little changed on Friday as investors took pause after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas kept key interest rates steady.

By the closing bell, the PSE index was down 0.009 percent, or less than a point, to 7,932.96. The broader all-shares index was down 0.12 percent, or 5.92 points, to 4,751.81.

Only financials ended in the green with a gain of 0.66 percent. Other subsectors such as mining and oil and property closed lower by 1.88 percent and 0.45 percent, respectively.

Volume picked up on Friday with 760.2 million shares valued at P6.8 billion changing hands. There were 61 gainers versus 109 decliners while 63 companies closed unchanged.

Gokongwei-led conglomerate JG Summit Holdings Inc. was the most actively traded stock on Friday as it slipped lower by 0.26 percent to P77.80 per share.

It was followed by Ayala Corp., up 1.47 percent to P830; Robinsons Land Corp., up 0.38 percent to P26.55; AllHome Corp., up 0.88 percent to P11.48; and SM Investments Corp., down 0.93 percent to P1,060 per share.