In the end, the third-quarter catalysts—interest rate cuts and easing inflation—failed to lift the local bourse that struggled to climb and sustain an ascent the entire year.
By the closing bell on Friday, the last trading day of 2024, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) lost 0.16 percent or 10.23 points to 6,528.79.
Meanwhile, the broader All Shares Index added 0.45 percent or 16.73 points to close at 3,748.51.
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A total of 1.18 billion shares worth P4.19 billion changed hands, stock exchange data showed. Foreigners opted to shed their stocks, with foreign outflows totaling P112.76 million.
Although the PSEi’s closing value for the year is 1.22 percent higher year-on-year, it is still lower by 0.4 percent versus the beginning of 2024.
Juan Paolo Colet, managing director at investment bank China Bank Capital Corp., said it was a “bittersweet culmination to a volatile year marked by steep rallies and corrections as hope turned into caution.”
“Just like 2023, this year again turned out to be fairly good for investors who were able to trade in and out of the major market waves,” Colet said.
To recall, the local stock barometer charged into the bull territory in September following the first of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ three quarter-point rate cuts of the year.
Entering the bull market meant the PSEi climbed by at least 20 percent from its recent low. In this case, the index jumped from around 6,100 in June to as high as 7,500 in October.
However, the easing cycle proved not to be enough to give the bourse a lift.
By November and December, the PSEi suffered several bloodbaths amid growing fears around US President-elect Donald Trump’s upcoming policies, including an import tariff hike that could lead to higher interest rates.
Investors snapped up shares of mining and oil companies the most while also letting go of bank stocks.
International Container Terminal Services Inc. was the top-traded stock as it slipped by 1.03 percent to P386 per share, followed by SM Investments Corp., up 1.93 percent to P899; BDO Unibank Inc., down 1.17 percent to P144; Ayala Land Inc., down 1.13 percent to P26.20; and Bank of the Philippine Islands, down 1.93 percent to P122 each.
Other actively traded stocks were Globe Telecom Inc., up 4 percent to P2,184; SM Prime Holdings Inc., down 0.59 percent to P25.15; Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., down 4.06 percent to P72; Jollibee Foods Corp., up 2.36 percent to P269; and Semirara Mining and Power Corp., up 1.45 percent to P34.90 per share.
Gainers outnumbered losers, 138 to 82, while 44 companies closed unchanged, stock exchange data also showed. —Meg J. Adonis