PSE Index Edges Up On Bargain Hunting

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index rose slightly Friday as bargain hunting drove some blue-chip stocks higher, with only the financial sector posting a loss.

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Index, February 21, 2025

Foreign investors remained net sellers, and the index closed at 6,098.04 points, up 31.41 points or 0.52 percent.

Property giants SM Prime and Ayala Land posted gains of 2.82 percent to P23.70 and 1.32 percent to P23.10, respectively, pushing the property index up by 1.57 percent. JG Summit surged 5.26 percent to P18.42, up 92 centavos, while Ayala Corp. gained 2.52 percent to P570, lifting the holding firms' index by 0.92 percent.

Market bellwether SM Investments ended the day unchanged at P780. Other sectoral movements included: Services: up 0.45 percent, Industrials: up 0.34 percent, and Mining and Oil: up 0.08 percent

Meanwhile, the financials index declined by 0.28 percent, as Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and Security Bank posted losses, while BDO Unibank remained unchanged.

Trading Activity and Foreign Transactions

Total trades amounted to P4.71 billion, with 102 gainers, 91 losers, and 44 unchanged stocks

Foreign investors registered a net selling position of P423 million, with foreign buying at P1.874 billion versus foreign selling of P2.298 billion. Total foreign transactions reached P4.17 billion, while local trades accounted for more than half a billion pesos.

The index opened slightly higher than Thursday’s close, dipping to a low of 6,068.99 points before climbing to a high of 6,114.58 points. Analysts noted that market uncertainty persists due to tariff hikes imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, leading many traders to take quick profits.

The stocks that gained were DigiPlus, Metrobank, Universal Robina, DFNN, United Paragon, PNB, National Reinsurance, Aboitiz Power, Manila Water, Citicore RE, SPNEC, Jollibee Foods, MRC Allied, Synergy Grid, and AgriNurture.

Also up were D&L Industries, SMC Food and Beverage, Figaro Coffee, LT Group, Keppel Properties, Alliance Global, Globe Telecom, PLDT, ABS-CBN, GMA-7, Atlas Mining, Lepanto A, Nickel Asia, Oriental Petroleum, Megaworld, Vista Land, Dito CME, Cebu Air, Belle Corp., PhilWeb, MacroAsia, Puregold, Philippine Seven, Wilcon Depot, and Monde Nissin.

On the losing side were ICTSI, Enex Energy, Filinvest Development, PAL, Alternergy, Basic Energy, ACEN Corp., Keepers Holdings, Century Pacific Food, Emperador, Cosco Capital, Cebu Landmasters, DMCI Holdings, Megawide, DoubleDragon, Robinsons Land, VistaREIT, Converge, Bloomberry, OceanaGold, PH Resorts, Vitarich, GT Capital, 8990 Holdings, and PH Resorts.

Meanwhile, Union Bank, Semirara Mining, Axelum, Filinvest REIT, Abacore, San Miguel, AREIT, Apex Mining, and Philex Mining stayed unchanged.