PSEi up as large banks open new earnings season with hope

MANILA  -The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose for a second straight session, ending above 6,600, as large banks advanced on bets the sector will continue to outperform.

The PSEi yesterday added 1.09 percent, or 71.59 points, to 6,613.50 while the broader All Shares index increased 0.72 percent, or 25 points, to 3,515.91.

A total of 518.55 million shares valued at P4.52 billion changed hands while foreigners were net buyers of an amount totaling P420 million, data from the stock exchange showed.

The financial subsector rose 1.9 percent after Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) opened the latest earnings season with a 23-percent profit jump for the first semester of 2023.

Property added 1.29 percent, followed by holding firms (+1.07 percent); mining and oil (+0.49 percent); and industrial (+0.44 percent). Services slumped 0.27 percent.

BDO Unibank was the most actively traded stock as it climbed 3.25 percent to P146.30 per share.

Jollibee Foods Corp. was up 1.49 percent to P258.80; Ayala Land Inc., up 3.65 percent to P27; BPI, up 0.97 percent to P114.50; and SM Investments Corp., up 2.06 percent to P940 per share.

International Container Terminal Services Inc. was down 0.77 percent to P206; SM Prime Holdings Inc., up 0.30 percent to P33.10; Metro Pacific Investments Corp., flat at P4.92; Wilcon Depot Inc., down 1.63 percent to P24.10; and Ayala Corp., up 1.29 percent to P628 per share.

Overall, there were 99 advancers against 81 losers while 44 companies closed unchanged, data from the stock exchange also showed.