The local stock barometer slightly gained on Friday, shrugging off a decision of Metro Manila mayors to impose uniform curfew hours amid a spike in coronavirus cases.
In line with mostly buoyant regional markets, the main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) added 9.37 points or 0.14 percent to close at 6,728.55.
It was announced on Thursday that for two weeks starting March 15, a curfew would be imposed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Dealers believe this will not curb economic activities in the metropolis.
For the week, the PSEi lost a total of 152.82 points or 2.22 percent.
On Friday, modest gains posted by the industrial, holding firm and property counters, which all added less than 1 percent, shored up the main index.
The financial, services and mining/oil counters, however, all declined by less than 1 percent.
Value turnover thinned to P6.87 billion on the heels of an ongoing initial public offering by DDMP REIT, the real estate investment trust of DoubleDragon Properties.
There were 108 advancers and 99 decliners, while 60 stocks were unchanged.
Foreigners remained net sellers, resulting in a net outflow of P602.86 million for the day.
AGI gained 2.43 percent, while Ayala Land added 1.09 percent.
BDO, Ayala Corp., PLDT, SM Investments and Jollibee all rose by less than 1 percent.
A notable gainer outside the PSEi was Dito, which rose by 8.38 percent and was the day’s most actively traded company.
TBGI added 5.26 percent, while Greenergy rose by 4.25 percent.
AC Energy was up by 3.2 percent.
ICTSI, SM Prime and Metrobank all slipped by less than 1 percent.