December inflation fuels PSEi a day after tech troubles
Philippine shares rose on Wednesday—the previous session’s cancellation over a technical glitch mostly forgotten—as investors focused on slower inflation figures in December.
By the closing bell, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) rose 0.71 percent, or 50.13 points, to 7,091.40 while the broader all-shares index was up 0.43 percent, or 16.27 points, to 3,794.17.
The government reported on Wednesday that inflation last December eased to 3.6 percent, its slowest pace in 2021 and below most projections by analysts.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, price levels in December were flat or posted zero-percent growth compared to November’s, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
Still, full-year inflation reached 4.5 percent, the highest in three years and above the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ 2 to 4 percent target.
Gains in the stock market on Wednesday were limited by climbing COVID-19 infections.
The Department of Health reported 10,775 new cases on Wednesday, nearly double the previous day’s figure, after the market closed.
Trading was canceled on Tuesday due to technical issues with a trading platform that sidelined over a third of stock brokerage houses.
PSE subsectors on Wednesday were mostly higher, with financials and services up 1.2 percent and 1.26 percent, respectively. Holding companies and mining and oil also rose 0.65 percent and 0.76 percent each.
Industrial and property stocks were down 0.04 percent and 0.05 percent.
A total of 973.94 million shares valued at P6.94 billion changed hands. Foreigners were net buyers to the tune of P276.15 million. There were 108 losers versus 86 gainers while 50 companies closed unchanged.
Ayala Land Inc. was the most actively traded on Wednesday as it shed 2.74 percent to P33.75 per share.
It was followed by AC Energy Corp., down 3.81 percent to P10.10; Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., unchanged at P54; PLDT Inc., up 4.03 percent to P1,885; and Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corp., down 6.92 percent to P1.21 per share.
