PSEi secures small gain in lackluster trading

Philippine stocks crawled higher during a sluggish session that saw winners and losers almost evenly matched.

By the closing bell, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose 0.19 percent, or 13.06 points, to 7,069.68 while the broader All Shares index added 0.23 percent, or 8.39 points, to 3,691.25.

Stock exchange data showed subsectors ended mixed while advancers narrowly led decliners, 99 to 92, as 55 companies closed unchanged.

There were 1.24 billion shares valued at P8.35 billion traded while foreigners were net buyers of an amount totaling P423.37 million.

“Philippine shares still managed to eke out gains even with Asian markets on holiday, and with [upcoming] big economic releases,” Luis Gerardo Limlingan, head of sales at stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development, said in a note to investors on Monday.

“[I]nvestors will be monitoring another batch of economic data, including the [US Federal Reserve’s] preferred inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditure price index, due out Friday,” he said.

Holding firms (+0.63 percent), financials (+0.24 percent) and services (+0.22 percent) ended in positive territory while mining and oil (-0.8 percent), industrial (-0.35 percent) and property (-0.33 percent) retreated .

Globe Telecom was the top traded stock on Monday as it shed 1.83 percent to P2,042 per share.