The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) ended relatively flat on Wednesday while property stocks moved higher as investors anticipated foot traffic returning to malls in time for the Christmas spending frenzy.
The PSEi rose 0.24 percent, or 17.94 points, to 7,419.10 as the broader all-shares index dipped 0.05 percent, or 2.1 points, to 3,935.54.
Subindices were little-changed save for the property sector, which closed the session up by 1.17 percent.
SM Prime Holdings Inc., a leading developer and the largest operator of shopping malls, gained 1.76 percent to P37.50 per share.
With the economy reopening, analysts expect malls to benefit from weary consumers who, emerging from long lockdowns, are sparking revenge spending.
First Metro Investment Corp. and the University of Asia and the Pacific (FMIC-UA&P) said in the latest issue of The Market Call the PSEi was poised to break the 7,500 level before the end of 2021 or in January next year.
“PSEi broke through the 7,000 barrier and settled above it for the rest of October and through mid-November. PSEi would have fared better had foreign investors not become net sellers in the last three days of October,” FMIC-UA&P said in the report.
“These developments, together with easing quarantine restrictions and more vaccinations/less cases, bolster our view that we have entered a bull market,” the report added.
Data from the PSE showed a total of 1.47 billion shares valued at P8.62 billion changing hands.
Foreign buyers outnumbered sellers with net purchases of about P37 million.
Overall, 93 stocks declined against 88 gainers while 53 companies closed unchanged.
Monde Nissin Corp. was the most actively traded on Wednesday as it slipped 5.06 percent to P18.02 per share.
It was followed by Converge ICT Solutions Inc., down 1.56 percent to P31.50; AC Energy Corp., down 1.66 percent to P11.84; BDO Unibank Inc., down 1.05 percent to P132.10; and International Container Terminal Services Inc., down 1.46 percent to P195.10 per share.
Other active names were SM Prime Holdings, up 1.76 percent to P37.50; Ayala Corp., down 0.45 percent to P893.50; Globe Telecom, unchanged at P3,600; GT Capital Holdings Inc., up 1.64 percent to P620; and PLDT Inc., up 1.45 percent to P1,750 per share.