PSE Index Declines On Sell-Down

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index today posted a decline on a sell-down in late trading profit-taking, with value turnover below average as uncertainty hovered on the horizon, to close 28.18 points down or 0.40 percent to 7,041.50 points.

Photo Insert: The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Index, January 24, 2023

Surging mid-session to bring the index to a high of 7,137.62 points after a quiet opening below Monday's close, investors cashed in their gains to bring the index to a low of 7,039.05 points before recovering a bit.

Value turnover amounted to just P5.39 billion, more than a half-million shy of the average. Gainers, however, eclipsed losers 103 to 89 with 48 shares unchanged.

Only the industrials survived the profit-taking with a gain of 0.57 percent while financials lost 0.41 percent, holding firms declined by 0.70 percent, services by 0.25 percent, mining and oil by 0.62 percent, and property by 0.29 percent.

Market bellwether SM Investments went down by P5 to P945 while Metro Pacific emerged as the most active stock with P410 million as it gained by 6.88 percent to P4.35, up by 28 centavos.

The conglomerate's rise, according to analysts, is due to disclosures of a possible reversion of the stock to private hands though other big companies are eyeing increased stakes in the issue,

Ayala Land and Robinsons Land were the second and third most active stocks with respective trades of P388 million and P351 million as their stock price went up by 5 centavos to P32.85 and by 82 centavos to P15.82.

BDO Unibank went down by 10 centavos to P122.40 and Bank of PI lost P1.70 to P108.30 while Metrobank gained 20 centavos to 58.90, Union Bank went up by P1.05 to P94, and Metrobank rose by 20 centavos to P58.90.

Among the gainers were Jollibee Foods, up by P3.40 to P246, PLDT, which gained P26 to P1,504, ACEN Corp., up 13 centavos to P7.35, Globe Telecom, up P78 to P2,120, Megaworld, up 10 centavos to P2.23, and Universal Robina up P4 to P144.

The losers included Semirara Mining, which went down P1.25 to P33.50, SM Prime, down 50 centavos to P37.50, and GT Capital, down 50 centavos to P505.50. Ayala Corp was unchanged at P745.

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