PSE Index Drops To New Level As It Closes At Lowest Point

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index, for the second consecutive day, declined further, closing at its lowest point.

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Index, January 28, 2025

The services sub-index, with port operator ICTSI posting a significant loss of 6.8 percent, closed at 6,153.47 points, down by 43.41 points or 0.70 percent.

The services sector suffered a hefty 3.66 percent decline, its largest loss so far, as Globe Telecom, Dito CME, ABS-CBN, GMA-7, Puregold, Cebu Air, and Wilcon Depot all recorded losses.

This drop brought the index within four points of falling below its support level of 6,150 points, which could signal more challenging times for the market.

Market analysts found the decline particularly surprising, as foreign investors became net buyers. Net foreign buying amounted to ₱322 million, with foreign purchases reaching ₱3.064 billion and sales totaling ₱2.865 billion.

The index showed promise at the opening, rising by 36 points after starting the day higher than Monday's close of 6,212.08 points.

Apart from the services sector, holding firms also declined by 0.57 percent despite a ₱2 increase in market bellwether SM Investments, which closed at ₱822. The property sector dropped by 0.13 percent, and mining and oil lost 0.94 percent.

Value turnover amounted to ₱5.64 billion, with 112 losers, 66 gainers, and 61 stocks unchanged.

Among the gainers were China Bank, BDO Unibank, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Synergy Grid, Petron, Jollibee Foods, Monde Nissin, Cosco Capital, DMCI Holdings, JG Summit, LT Group, MREIT, PLDT, Converge, MacroAsia, Atlas Mining, and OceanaGold.

Meanwhile, the losers included Ayala Corp, Metrobank, AREIT, PXP Energy, PNB, Union Bank, Citicore REIT, Citicore Renewable Trust, Megaworld, Haus Talk, First Gen, Semirara Mining, Meralco, Manila Water, Ginebra, Universal Robina, Vitarich, AbaCore, GT Capital, San Miguel, DoubleDragon, Robinsons Land, and Boulevard Holdings.

Stocks that remained unchanged included Ayala Land, Security Bank, SPNEC, Shell Pilipinas, ACEN Corp, Axelum, AgriNurture, Figaro Coffee, Belle Corp, and DigiPlus.