Trades thin out ahead of earnings season; PSEi marginally up
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) crept higher during an uneventful session on Tuesday that saw trading volume dip below P4 billion.
The PSEi ended with a gain of 0.28 percent, or 17.46 points, to 6,286.24 while the broader All Shares index rose 0.34 percent, or 11.30 points, to 3,381.36.
Investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the release of second quarter earnings, pushing down daily trading volume by 9 percent to P3.8 billion.
Adrian Yu, head of institutional sales at stock brokerage house COL Financial Group, said the upcoming corporate second quarter earnings season would be critical for investors since the period had fully captured inflationary pressures sparked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
For now, he said it was too early to call for an earnings downgrade.
“Currently, we still think the PSEi should close [the year] at the 7,700 level,” Yu said. “We will revise our earnings in the near future with the second quarter earnings coming up.”
Shares were mostly higher with five out of the six subsectors ending positive.
Financials dropped 1.56 percent while mining and oil added 2.55 percent, followed by services, up 1.38 percent; holding firms, up 1.04 percent; industrial, up 0.38 percent; and property, up 0.26 percent.
International Container Terminal Services Inc. was the top traded stock as it jumped 4.49 percent to P186 per share.
It was followed by Ayala Land Inc., down 1.81 percent to P24.40; Semirara Mining and Power Corp., up 3.43 percent to P39.25; PLDT Inc., down 1.9 percent to P1,654; and Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., down 2.56 percent to P45.70 per share.
BDO Unibank Inc. lost 2.89 percent to P117.50; SM Prime Holdings Inc., up 1.07 percent to P37.85; AC Energy Corp., up 0.24 percent to P8.25; Universal Robina Corp., up 0.52 percent to P115.40; and Converge ICT Solutions Inc., flat at P20.25 per share.
Overall, there were 99 advancers against 77 losers while 51 companies closed unchanged, data from the PSE showed.
