PSEi gains anew with window dressing still in progress

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) pushed higher on Wednesday as investors stayed on the sidelines while overseas markets pulled back on Omicron worries.

The PSEi rose 0.66 percent, or 48.06 points, to 7,334.56 while the broader all-shares index added 0.66 percent, or 25.47 points, to 3,883.38.

“Philippine shares once again made steady gains as part of the year-end window dressing amid a quiet week and ahead of the holidays,” Luis Gerardo Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital Development, said in a note to investors.

Trading will be closed today due to the Rizal Day holiday before resuming for a half-day session on Friday.

Market volume was relatively lower while subsectors were mostly positive, with mining and oil and property gaining 2.82 percent and 2.16 percent, respectively.

The holding firms subindex was the only loser as it dropped 0.52 percent.

A total of 1.75 billion shares valued at P5.23 billion changed hands on Wednesday. Data from the PSE also showed 114 gainers versus 79 decliners while 62 companies closed unchanged.

At the same time, US and Asian indices ended mixed as investors remained wary of the spread of the Omicron variant.

Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. was the most actively traded on Wednesday, gaining 3.64 percent to P57 per share.

It was followed by Solar Philippines Nueva Ecjia Corp., down 4.58 percent to P1.25; Megaworld Corp., up 2.46 percent to P3.33; GT Capital Holdings, down 0.89 percent to P555; and PLDT Inc., up 1.52 percent to P1,870 per share.

Other active names were BDO Unibank Inc., up 1.6 percent to P127; SM Prime Holdings Inc., up 2.6 percent to P35.50; Bank of the Philippine Islands, up 0.84 percent to P95.60; Emperador Inc., up 1.95 percent to P20.90; and International Container Terminal Services Inc., up 0.49 percent to P205 per share. INQ