PSE Index Down On Inflation Spike

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index today dropped below its 6,700 milestone level, closing 93.36 points lower or down 6.38 percent to 6,667.97 points on a spike in inflation to 8.1 percent for December and a continued hawkish signal from the US Fed to further raise rates dampening investor sentiment in the local market.

Photo Insert: The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Index, January 6, 2023

Opening at 6,736.65 points, the index dropped after a brief opening high and subsequent trades saw the market going down by 60 points an hour before and later by another 33 points to finish the day lower with trades below average aP5.46 billion on lack of investor interest that saw 69 shares gaining, 124 shares going down and 41 shares unchanged.

Only five of the top 20 most active stocks posted gains and one other, SM Prime was unchanged at P36.75.

The five gainers were Converge, which disclosed Thursday its Singapore connectivity thrust, which gained 10 centavos to P17.50, APL, up P0.005 to P0.038, Metrobank, up 65 centavos to P56.90, Bloomberry, up 4 centavos to P8.90, and Bank of PI up by 80 centavos to P100.60.

The financials, though, posted a 0.63 percent decline among the sub-indices as BDO Unibank, which was the second most active stock with P371 million, lost 2.63 percent or P3 to P111. Market bellwether SM Investments emerged most active with P422 million, as it closed at P900, down by P15 though it hit a high of P920 after opening at P918.

PLDT also opened higher at P1,413 and then rose by P2 before losing steam on profit-taking to end the day at its lowest price point.

ACEN Corp. went down by 7.76 percent even with the stock dividend payouts from Ayala Corp for Acen shares, closing at P17.50, down by 63 centavos while Jollibee Foods lost P6 to P242, Ayala Land, down a peso to P30.25, Monde by 28 centavos to P12.30, ICTSI, by P2.70 to P196, Globe Telecom, by P38 to P2,126, Universal Robina, by P2.30 to P137, DM Consunji, by 8 centavos to P11.72, Aboitiz Equity, by P1.25 to P58.70, and GT Capital by P8.20 to P439.80.

All the sub-indices were in negative territory as investors see a further rise in rates in US Fed which bowed to arrest the inflation spike which means higher interest rates that will be mirrored by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and other central banks.

Industrials lost 1.84 percent, holding firms by 1.38 percent, services by 1.20 percent, mining and oil by 1.22 percent, and property by 1.11 percent.

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