PSE Index Still Anemic

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index experienced a slight decline, closing at 6,252.16 points, down by 7.79 points or 0.12 percent.

Photo Insert: The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Index, October 9, 2023

This decrease is attributed to several factors, including the projected increase in interest rates by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in the coming month.

The global economy is also reacting to recent geopolitical events in Israel, which are expected to lead to higher oil prices and a potential spike in gold prices. This has caused a rise in mining stocks, which helped offset the drop in the index.

Mining and oil rose by 0.92 percent as the shares of Apex Mining rose by 22 centavos to P2.50, up by 9.65 percent, the second biggest gainer, while Atlas Mining went up by 9 centavos to P3.14, and Philex Mining up by 14 centavos to P2.84. Semirara Mining also gained by 25 centavos to P35.25.

Services, property, and industrials also saw gains of 0.41 percent, 0.14 percent, and 0.32 percent, respectively. Financials and index-heavy holding firms, however, went down by 0.86 percent and 0.25 percent, respectively.

Foreign investors exited the market with net foreign selling reaching P2.98 billion, driven by a rise in the US bond market due to increasing Fed rates and uncertainty in the global economy stemming from the Israel geopolitical event.

Total turnover for the day amounted to P5.7 billion, with 94 gainers, 86 losers, and 56 shares remaining unchanged.

Aboitiz Power emerged as the most active stock with P202 million in trades as it added P1.20 to its share price to reach P35.70 on the back of its buy-back mandate, while ACEN Corp was the second most active with P190 million as it gained 16 centavos to P5.38. GT Capital was third most active with P185 million as it lost P10 to P560.

Among the gainers were PLDT up by P17 to P1,220, Converge, up by 45 centavos to P9.88, Globe Telecom, up by P12 to P1,802, JG Summit, up by P1.25 to P39.25, Emperador, up by 5 centavos to P20.95, Ayala Land, up by 25 centavos to P28.70 and Universal Robina, up by a peso to P118.80.

Among the losers were SM Prime, down by 15 centavos to P30.55, Metrobank, down by 30 centavos to P51.90, BDO Unibank, down by 50 centavos to P139.20, SM Investments, down by P3 to P830, Ayala Corp, down by P4.50 to P616, Jollibee Foods, down by P2 to P219, NickelAsia, down by 2 centavos to P5.98, Aboitiz Equity, down by 40 centavos to P49, Security Bank, down by 50 centavos to P76.50, Bank of PI, down by P1.90 to P107.10, and Dito CME, down by 5 centavos to P3.19.

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