Thin trading thwarts PSEi’s climb to 6,300

Philippine stocks moved sideways on Friday on thin trading activity as the benchmark index attempted to retest the 6,300 level.

By the closing bell, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) added 0.37 percent, or 23.30 points, to 6,269.50 while the broader All Shares index added 0.61 percent, or 20.21 points, to 3,348.22.

Trading activity remained muted as 445.73 million shares valued at P2.68 billion changed hands while foreigners were net sellers of an amount worth P123.04 million, data from the stock exchange showed.

Jonathan Ravelas, senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong & Co., said 6,300 was the index’s next major resistance area.

“Failure to sustain gains above the 6,200 levels could trigger a sell-off back towards the 6,000 levels,” he said

Meanwhile, subsectors closed mixed as property (+1.18 percent), services (+0.64 percent) and holding firms (+0.48 percent) gained ground while industrial (-0.24 percent), financials (-0.08 percent) and mining and oil (-0.06 percent) retreated.

International Container Terminal Services was the top traded stock as it rose 1.39 percent to P218.40 per share.

It was followed by Jollibee Foods Corp., down 0.17 percent to P238.40; SM Prime Holdings Inc., up 1.72 percent to P32.50; AREIT Inc., down 0.17 percent to P29.20; and Manila Water Co. Inc., up 3.44 percent to P18.04 per share.

SM Investments Corp. was up 0.48 percent to P834; Ayala Land Inc., up 1.01 percent to P29.90; BDO Unibank Inc., up 0.15 percent to P132.10; Ayala Corp., up 0.69 percent to P652; and Bank of the Philippine Islands, down 0.58 percent to P103.40 per share.

Overall, there were 94 losers against 78 advancers while 51 companies closed unchanged, data from the stock exchange also showed. —Miguel R. Camus