PSE Index Bucks Rate Hike, Ends Week Up

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index today rose by 39. 23 points or 0.57 percent to 6,863.86 points bucking an early looming loss and a small decline in the holding firms index at market recess.

Photo Insert: The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Index, August 19, 2022

Investors continued to latch on to an economic growth story even with the rise in interest rates of 50 basis points that started today pushing shares higher until profit-taking set in.

Security Bank, for instance, just taken out of the PSE index basket, went up to a high of p94. 10 before settling down to P90.50, a decline of P1.95 or 2.11 percent. Systems Grid rose to a high of P13.74 before closing at P13.36 up by 4 centavos.

Ayala Land, which emerged as the most active stock with trades of P585 million hit P29.80 before closing at P29.55, up by 95 centavos, while market bellwether SM Investments closed P3 higher at P883 but had a high P887.

The second most active stock, San Miguel Corp closed unchanged at P101 on trades of P516 million but had a high of P101.90. ICTSI was the third most active with P292 million but closed a peso higher at P187.

All sub-indices were up with property higher by 1.45 percent, mining and oil index by 3.39 percent, Financials by 0.80 percent, industrials by 0.16 percent, holding firms by 0.10 percent, and services by 0.32 percent.

Value turnover amounted to just P5.14 billion with 113 gainers 80 losers and 49 shares unchanged.

Among the gainers were SM Prime, up 20 centavos to P37. 95, Universal Robina, up P2 to P127, Filinvest REIT, up 5 centavos to P6.22, BDO Unibank up p1. 70 to p129. 30, Philex Mining, up 12 centavos to P3.54, Emperador, up 5 centavos to P20.60, and PLDT, up P20 to P1,750.

The losers included Globe, down P6 to P2,360, Jollibee Foods, down P5.60 to P228, Converge down 16 centavos to P19.54, Monde, down 6 centavos to P16.30, and GT Capital Holdings, down a peso to P529.

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