LOCAL BOURSE Philippine Stock Exchange Tower in Bonifacio Global City —DAXIM L. LUCAS
The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) returned to 6,700 territory on Tuesday as the easing of inflation figures encouraged investors to pick up shares.
The benchmark PSEi rose by 0.50 percent, or 33.56 points, to end at 6,709.60 while the wider All-Shares Index climbed 0.26 percent, or 9.24 points, to settle at 3,550.95.
“Philippine shares edged higher as the latest [inflation] print showed that the overall cost of goods seemed to be moderating, while major US stock indices are poised to resume later this evening,” Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said.
The government reported on Tuesday that the inflation rate had slowed down to 6.3 percent in August from 6.4 percent in July. This was within the 5.9 percent to 6.7 percent range projected by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for the month.
“However, downside risks, including the peso’s depreciation and the Federal Reserve’s hawkish outlook, kept many investors at the sidelines,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. researcher Mikhail Plopenio said.
The Philippine peso depreciated for a third straight trading day, closing at P57 against the greenback on Tuesday.
All the sectors were up, except for financials and industrial counters which declined by 0.17 percent and 0.44 percent, respectively. Mining and oil index gained the most with 2.49-percent increase, followed by property at 1.22 percent.
About 562.76 million shares valued at P4.69 billion were traded. Winners led losers, 95-89, while 50 issues were unchanged.
Ayala Land’s shares, the most actively traded, rose by 3.10 percent to P29.90 each.
This was followed by: San Miguel Corp., down 1.26 percent to P98; International Container Terminal Services Inc., down 0.55 percent to P182; SM Investments Corp., up 0.80 percent to P877; Globe Telecom, down 0.73 percent to P2,168; and SM Prime Holdings, up 0.28 percent to P36.15.
Other active names were: Emperador Inc., down 0.48 percent to P20.70; Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., up 1.13 percent to P53.50; Bank of the Philippine Islands, up 0.46 percent to P97.40; and AbaCore Capital Holdings Inc., up 3.61 percent to P2.58.