PSE Index Down In Volatile Run

The Philippine Stock Exchange index today closed a tad lower at 6,256.17 points, down by 18.63 points or 0.30 percent in another volatile run that has characterized the market with the ongoing uncertainty from around the globe arising from the Ukraine crisis, inflationary spiral, and supply chain disruptions that have hit hard all countries.

Photo Insert: The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Index, July 21, 2022

Opening a bit higher from its Wednesday close, the index started on a bullish run until investors pocketed their early gains.

As a result, the index went to as high as 6,347.58 points and then to a low of 6,245.63 as blue chips shed their gains from past trading days and bargain hunters moved in. Thus, there were gainers than losers even with the index down, 107 to 69 with 60 shares unchanged.

Volume has now reached the average trades with P6.09 billion in transactions as investors bought second and third liners.

Top-traded Ayala Land and SM Prime followed a rising pattern at the beginning but at the end, they ended mixed with the former ending the day at P25.50, up by 30 centavos on trades of P439 million while the latter closed 65 centavos lower to P36.10 on trades of P318 million, Ayala Land though had a high and low of P26.25 and P25.45 while SM Prime hit a high of P37.70 and a low of P35.90.

Investors have begun adding second and third liners in their portfolios due to the volatility that has marked the market. Among these issues were Axelum, which ended at P2.30, up by centavos on trades of P2.9 million, recent IPO issue Medlines which went up by 5 centavos on trades of P5.5 million, PhilWeb, which rose by 22 centavos to P3.72 on trades of P11.5 million and Synergy Grid which added 6 centavos to P12.20 on trades of P65 million.

Market bellwether SM Investments mirrored the volatility in the market as it closed at P774, down by P14 but it had a high of P807.50 and a low of P772 while Bank of PI closed unchanged at P89 though it went up to a high of P90 and a low of P88.25.

BDO Unibank was up by P3 to P121 while Metrobank rose by 75 centavos to P46.40 resulting in a gain in the financials sub-index of 1.26 percent.

The other gainer was mining and oil with Semirara Mining going up by 50 centavos to P41.20. Industrials went down by 0.17 percent, holding firms 0.68 percent, services by 0.12 percent, and property by 0.73 percent.

Emperador went up by 716 centavos to P19.08, PLDT by P10 to P1,679, AC Energy by 20 centavos to P8,60, DM Consunji by 19 centavos to P9.50, and Aboitiz Equity by 90 centavos to P52.40 while the losers included ICTSI, down by a peso to P181, Converge, down 25 centavos to P20.80, Ayala Corp. down by P6 to P604, JG Summit, down 45 centavos to P52, Globe down P38 to P2,208 and Megaworld, down 3 centavos to P2.25.

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