Positive news ends Feb with sustained gains at PSEi

MANILA, Philippines  — The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) ended February with sustained gains, propelled by the recent MSCI adjustments.

The PSEi added 0.99 percent, or 68.19 points, to 6,944.71 while the broader All Shares index was up 0.48 percent, or 17.40 points, to 3,609.06.

“Philippine shares continued to outperform to close the month of Feb., buoyed by the latest MSCI rebalancing, while other investors weighed the latest earnings results and looked ahead to the Fed’s favored inflation gauge,” Luis Gerardo Limlingan, head of sales at stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development, said on Thursday.

READ: Asian stocks firm before US inflation test; yen gains

Volume also picked up during the session as funds shifted their portfolios. A total of 74.4 million shares valued at almost P12 billion changed hands while foreigners were net buyers of an amount worth P436.4 million, data from the stock exchange showed.

PSE subsectors were mostly higher, led by financials and holding firms, which grew 2.13 percent and 1.61 percent, respectively, as property stocks slumped 1.42 percent.

Ayala Corp., the most actively traded stock, slipped 1.45 percent to P678 per share.

It was followed by Bank of the Philippine Islands, up 3.22 percent to P125.10; SM Prime Holdings Inc., down 2.77 percent to P31.60; SM Investments Corp., up 2.96 percent to P940; and BDO Unibank Inc., up 3.38 percent to P153 per share.

Overall, there were 107 losers against 81 advancers while 41 companies closed unchanged, data from the stock exchange also showed.