PH shares dawdle in tepid session

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was little-changed on Friday as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the weekend.

By the closing bell, the benchmark measure slipped 0.08 percent, or 5.39 points, to 7,056.62 while the broader All Shares index shed 0.1 percent, or 3.82 points, to 3,682.86.

Trading volume also pulled back, with 1.56 billion shares valued at P6.86 billion changing hands while foreign buying ramped up, resulting in net purchases of P664.8 million, stock exchange data showed.

“It was a quiet session in the local market following a sluggish performance once again in the [United States]. The major indices logged their third consecutive day in the red as corporate earnings and economic data signal a slowing economy,” Luis Gerardo Limlingan, head of sales at stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development, said in a note to investors on Friday.

PSE subsectors were mixed. Mining and oil (+1.32 percent), property (+0.83 percent) and holding firms (+0.35 percent) pushed higher while services (-0.85 percent), industrial (-0.54 percent) and financials (-0.44 percent) retreated.

SM Investments Corp. was the top traded company, ending with gains of 2.1 percent to P950 per share.

It was followed by Manila Electric Co., down 3.09 percent to P282.20; GT Capital Holdings Inc., up 2.23 percent to P495.80; Jollibee Foods Corp., down 1.21 percent to P245; and Ayala Corp., down 0.13 percent to P745 per share.

BDO Unibank was up 0.24 percent to P123; SM Prime Holdings Inc., up 0.13 percent to P38.35; and Universal Robina Corp., up 2.11 percent to P145.

Overall, there were 97 advancers against 86 losers while 59 companies closed unchanged.