The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) edged higher on Monday after recovering from losses earlier in the session amid weak volume.
By the closing bell, the PSEi was up 0.13 percent, or 9.52 points, to 7,134.36 after dropping as much as 0.60 percent intraday. The broader all-shares index was up 0.20 percent, or 7.46 points, to 3,782.05.
“Philippine shares were bought up ahead of the quarter end and a series of key economic data releases while the street keeps a watchful eye on the Fed’s planned interest rate hikes,” Luis Gerardo Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital Development, said in a note to investors on Monday.
Modest gains
Modest gains by SM Investments Corp. and Universal Robina Corp. helped prop up the benchmark measure.
The industrial Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) subsector rose 0.84 percent while holding firms gained 0.48 percent.
Mining and oil dropped 0.87 percent followed by services, down 0.45 percent; property, down 0.24 percent; and financials, down 0.11 percent.
PSE data showed 768.14 million shares valued at P5.2 billion changing hands while foreigners were net buyers to the tune of P185.89 million.
There were 94 losers against 77 advancers while 55 companies closed unchanged.
Converge ICT Solutions Inc. was the most actively traded on Monday as it closed flat at P26.50 per share.
It was followed by Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corp., up 1 percent to P2.02; SM Investments Corp., up 0.33 percent to P900; Universal Robina Corp., up 1.03 percent to P118.20; and International Container Terminal Services Inc., down 2.68 percent to 218 per share.
Other active names were Ayala Corp., down 1.41 percent to P806; SM Prime Holdings Inc., down 0.53 percent to P37.50; Semirara Mining and Power Corp., up 1.27 percent to P32; Ayala Land Inc., flat at P36; and BDO Unibank Inc., down 0.68 percent to P131.60 per share.