PH shares lackluster amid economic woes
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was little changed on Wednesday amid another low-volume session while PLDT Inc. and Converge ICT Solutions Inc. saw strong gains.
By the closing bell, the PSEi added 0.02 percent, or 1.64 points, to 6,566.54 as the broader All Shares Index rose 0.23 percent, or 7.91 points, to 3,449.33.
“Questions also lingered over whether the volatility will continue into 2023 and what the economy and inflation will bring as the calendar year turns a corner,” Luis Gerardo Limlingan, head of sales at stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development, said in a note to investors.
“Market participants will be looking for numbers that can signal the [United States] economy is cooling, which they hope could indicate to the [US Federal Reserve] that interest rate hikes can continue slowing,” he added.
Mining and oil and services led subsectors with gains of 1.38 percent and 1.24 percent, respectively. Financials and holding firms also rose 0.35 percent and 0.03 percent, while property and industrial stocks shed 0.73 percent and 0.11 percent each.
A total of 1.1 billion shares valued at P3.7 billion changed hands, including net foreign selling of P120.4 million, data from the stock exchange showed.
SM Investments Corp. was the top traded stock as it dropped 2.15 percent to P910 per share.
It was followed by PLDT Inc., up 4.04 percent to P1,313; BDO Unibank Inc., flat at P105.90; Converge ICT Solutions Inc., up 6.53 percent to P15.66; and ACEN Corp., up 0.79 percent to P7.64 per share.
