Hushed trading greets PH shares ahead of inflation reveal

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) saw a quiet session with low trading volumes yesterday as investors shied away from placing bets ahead of the release of inflation data on Tuesday.

By the closing bell, the PSEi rose 0.14 percent, or 10.33 points, to 7,163.21 while the broader all-shares index was up 0.24 percent, or 8.95 points, to 3,797.54.

Economists were expecting a faster March inflation reading as oil prices breached recent records in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Forecasts collected by the Inquirer showed inflation rate reaching a high of 4.4 percent last month—above government estimates and the 3-percent reading in February.

The most conservative March forecast came in at 3.3 percent, the Inquirer reported.

PSE subsectors ended mostly higher with mining and oil moving up 1.43 percent while holding firms, the only loser, dropped 0.27 percent.

Trading volume on Monday was thin, with just 1.33 billion shares valued at P3.87 billion changing hands.

There were 96 advancers against 83 losers while 56 companies closed unchanged.

Converge ICT Solutions Inc. was the top traded stock on Monday as it lost 3.5 percent to P28.95 per share.

It was followed by Ayala Land Inc., up 1 percent to P35.30; AC Energy Corp., up 1.84 percent to P8.86; International Container Terminal Services Inc., down 0.79 percent to P224.80; and SM Investments Corp., down 0.89 percent to P890 per share.

Globe Telecom, meanwhile, sank 0.87 percent to P2,498 after completing the establishment of a $350-million data center venture with parent firm Ayala Corp. and new strategic investor, ST Telemedia Global Data Centres. INQ