PSE Index Weathers Volatile Trade To Eke Out A Rise

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index Monday experienced a roller-coaster ride, hitting a milestone low before recovering later in volatile trade.

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Index, October 28, 2024

It opened higher, dipped later, and fluctuated within a 60-point range before closing at 7,343.24 points, up by 29.01 points or 0.40 percent. All sub-indices ended in the green, despite foreign investors selling more than buying.

Value turnover was muted, reaching just 67 percent of the average trade, or P4.1 billion.

Financials posted a 0.88 percent gain, industrials rose by 0.40 percent, and holding firms were slightly up by 0.16 percent.

The services sector, buoyed by global port operator ICTSI, offset losses from telco giants Globe Telecom and PLDT. Globe Telecom saw P42 million in net foreign selling out of P89 million in trades, while PLDT had P7 million in net foreign selling out of P61 million in trades.

The market remained listless due to the lack of economic events to drive it upward.

Market bellwether SM Investments edged up a peso to P964, with share prices ranging from a low of P956 to a high of P977, mirroring the market's volatility. Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) was the most active stock with P751 million in trades.

It was followed by BDO Unibank and ICTSI with P298 million and P252 million in trades, respectively. All three posted gains.

There were 90 gainers, 99 losers, and 55 shares unchanged. Among the gainers were GT Capital, SM Prime, Universal Robina, MRC Allied, Macroasia, EastWest, CEMEX Holdings, Cosco Capital, Asiabest, DigiPlus, Philweb, SSI Group, Atlas Mining, and Nickel Asia.

Metrobank, Citicore RE, Jollibee Foods, Meralco, Manila Water, First Gen, Century Pacific Food, Converge, Dito CME, ABS-CBN, GMA-7, Boulevard Holdings, Wilcon Depot, PhilSeven, and JG Summit also came out winners.

Among the losers were Security Bank, Union Bank, Semirara Mining, Ayala Land, Abacore, ACEN Corp., PSE, SPNEC, Agrinurture, Sunergy Grid, Figaro Coffee, D&L Industries, Monde Nissin, Filinvest Land, and Roxas and Co.

Stocks that remained unchanged included Ayala Corp., Alternergy, Basic Energy, Aboitiz Power, PAL, Shell Pilipinas, Integrated Microelectronics, DMC Holdings, Citicore REIT, AREIT, Rockwell, Vitarich, and Megawide.