Philippine shares climbed during a low-volume session on Monday that saw much of the action centered on newly listed Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corp. (SPNEC)
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSE) ended the day higher by 1.02 percent, or 72.94 points, to 7,254.80 while the broader all-shares index added 0.54 percent, or 20.70 points, to 3,842.96.
With few market drivers, investors flocked to SPNEC, which announced that it had started the construction of the first 50 megawatts of its 500-MW solar facility in Nueva Ecija,
“The first 50 MW is targeted to begin delivering power to the grid by the end of 2022, paving the way for SPNEC to reach profitability and construct the rest of the project by 2023,” the company said in a stock exchange disclosure.
SPNEC was the biggest gainer and top traded stock by volume as its share price jumped 20 percent to P1.38 per share.
PSE subsectors also closed higher, with industrial the sole decliner at 0.09 percent.
Financials and services were the biggest gainers with 1.89 percent and 1.24 percent, respectively. Holding firms went up 1.18 percent while property and mining and oil each added 0.09 percent and 0.04 percent.
Market volume remained low with 1.1 billion shares valued at P3.87 billion changing hands. Advancers edged out decliners, 87 to 83, while 51 companies closed unchanged.