Encouraging corporate developments send PH shares higher

Philippine stocks pushed higher ahead of the weekend as investors weighed earnings disclosures while foreign selling eased.

By the closing bell, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) added 0.5 percent, or 32.92 points, to 6,655.37 while the broader All Shares index rose 0.43 percent, or 15.24 points, to 3,564.42.

A total of 828.96 million shares valued at P6.48 billion changed hands while net foreign selling was sharply lower at P501.96 million, stock exchange data showed.

A notable gainer for the session was infrastructure giant Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which was up 7.4 percent. The company is set to report full-year earnings next week while rumors of an investment by a strategic partner persist.

On Friday, Wilcon Depot reported a record year in 2022 as profits jumped over 50 percent to P3.85 billion on strong private sector spending.

Mining and oil led subsectors on Friday with a gain of 1.67 percent. Financials also rose 1.16 percent, followed by holding firms (+0.63 percent), industrial (+0.24 percent) and services (+0.23 percent). Property declined 0.53 percent.

BDO Unibank Inc. was the top traded stock as it climbed 0.64 percent to P125.80 per share.

Metro Pacific shares shoot up to P4.50; Globe Telecom, up 2.38 percent to P1,850; International Container Terminal Services Inc., up 0.05 percent to P200; and Bank of the Philippine Islands, up 3.65 percent to P107.90.

ACEN Corp. was up 2.31 percent to P6.64; Megaworld Corp., flat at P1.98; Security Bank Corp., down 2.04 percent to P96; SM Prime Holdings Inc., flat at P35.50; and SM Investments Corp., up 0.62 percent to P896 per share.

Overall, there were 84 advancers against 73 losers while 52 companies closed unchanged.

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