PSE Index Down

The Philippine Stock Exchange index today went down by 53.86 points or 0.86 percent to 6,209.53 points, the missing narrative being that the index declined to its resistance level before recovering lost ground.

Photo Insert: The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Index, July 25, 2022

The financials received the brunt of the downswing following the negative hysteria over a potential default of the Udenna empire of Davao businessman Dennis Uy which has listed firms on the exchange.

BDO Unibank, which has a big exposure in the business firms of Uy, went down by a sizeable 4.62 percent to P115.60, down by P5.60, the biggest decline posted, as it emerged the most active stock with p904 million.

Bank of PI also went down by P2.35 to P86.40, Security Bank by P2.70 to P88, and Metrobank by 20 centavos to P46.50.

Reports show that Udenna and its subsidiaries have p225 billion in loans as of December 31, 2020, and this gave jitters to investors with the story on the loan default of one of Uy's firms which could trigger cross-default provisions.

The financials sub-index posted the biggest loss of 2.79 percent followed by services down by 1.63 percent, industrials by 0.82 percent, and holding firms by 0.37 percent. Mining and oil rose by 0.06 percent and property by 0.80 percent.

Opening a tad lower from its Friday close, the index briefly rose by just a bit before going down to a dizzying low of 6,163.26 points but recovered lost ground.

Market bellwether SM Investments closed a peso higher to P789 but it had a volatile run with a high of P793 and a low of P775.

Ayala Land lost 90 centavos to P24, ICTSI by P2.20 to P180.50, Dito CME by 14 centavos to P3.94, Ayala Corp by P8 to P600, Converge by 50 centavos to P20, Semirara Mining by 45 centavos to P40, Monde by 4 centavos to P14.34, PLDT by P61 to P1,611 and Globe down by P60 to P2,130, while Emperador closed higher by 6 centavos to P18.90, and SM Prime by P1.25 to P37.25.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic