On-target inflation outlook shores up shares
MANILA, Philippines —Strong corporate earnings and a positive inflation outlook encouraged investors to buy up shares on Wednesday, prompting the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) to recover some ground after an earlier profit-taking.
The benchmark PSEi climbed 0.23 percent, or 15.85 points, to close at 6,876.52 while the broader All-Shares index rose 0.24 percent, or 8.57 points, to settle at 3,591.66.
Claire Alviar, assistant manager for research and online engagement at Philstocks Financial Inc., said that “strong earnings results from 2023 … provided positive sentiment” for the local bourse.
Among the industry giants that released 2023 earnings reports on Wednesday were SM Investments Corp., Filinvest Land Inc. and Megaworld Corp.
READ: Filinvest Land net income up 30% to P3.8B in 2023
Alviar added that “optimism was [also] spurred by the World Bank’s expectation that the Philippines’ inflation will likely stay within 2-4 percent this year.”
Winners and losers
Inflation settled to a three-year low of 2.8 percent in January. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas estimates this figure to average at 3.6 percent this year.
READ: Inflation softened in Jan to over three-year low of 2.8%
The subsectors were mixed. Financials, holding firms and property indices ended in the green while the rest registered a decline.
About 379.4 million shares were traded for P4.73 billion. Winners led losers, 95-85, while 57 issues were unchanged.The most actively traded shares were BDO Unibank Inc., which recently reported the highest net income in Philippine corporate history. Its stock price increased by 2.92 percent to P148.
This was followed by Ayala Corp., down 0.58 percent to P688; International Container Terminal Services Inc., down 1.04 percent to P285; and Ayala Land Inc., flat at P35.10.
