Stocks recover from outlook downgrade jolt

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) rebounded from yesterday’s selloff after debt watcher Fitch Ratings warned the country of a possible credit rating cut.

By the closing bell on Wednesday, the PSEi rose 0.59 percent, or 40.28 points, to 6,835.41 while the broader all-shares index rose 0.28 percent, or 11.72 points, to 4,227.48.

“The market ended slightly higher in another low-volume trading session which proved that yesterday’s sell-off was just a knee-jerk reaction to reports of a possible credit rating downgrade from global debt-watcher Fitch,” Chris Mangun, research head at stock brokerage firm AAA Equities, said in a note to investors.The news was also offset by a gain in remittances from overseas Filipino workers and healthy vehicle sales in June.

For the rest of the week, Mangun said the PSEi may continue to move “sideways.”

Meanwhile, the property subsector extended losses from the previous session as it dropped another 0.49 percent on Wednesday. Services also slid lower by 0.43 percent.

The holding firms subindex was the biggest gainer after rising 1.13 percent, followed by mining and oil, financials and the industrial sector.

Data from the PSE showed a total of 1.01 billion shares valued at P4.37 billion changing hands. There were 117 losers versus 70 gainers while 58 companies closed unchanged.

Property giant Ayala Land Inc. was the most actively traded on Wednesday as it sank 0.56 percent to P35.45 per share.

It was followed by LT Group Inc., down 3.85 percent to P11; AC Energy Corp., down 0.11 percent to P8.79; International Container Terminal Services Inc., up 0.91 percent to P167; and DMCI Holdings Inc., down 0.16 percent to P6.38 per share.

Other actively traded stocks were BDO Unibank Inc., up 0.45 percent to P111.20; Converge ICT Solutions Inc., up 1.69 percent to P24; Monde Nissin Corp., down 1.8 percent to P16.34; and SM Prime Holdings Inc., down 0.71 percent.

—Miguel R. Camus