PSE Index In Big Decline

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index today posted its biggest decline with investors in sell-down mode to close at 6,499.68 points, down by a hefty 145.07 points or 2.18 percent with two of the sub-sectors going down by more than 3 percent as market veterans chew the reason for the disastrous run.

Photo Insert: The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Index, March 31, 2023

In what could be a portent of the PSE's calamitous decline, market bellwether SM Investments opened at its high of P907 and closed at its lowest point of P889, down by P13.50 or 1.5 percent with trades of P598 million, the topmost traded stock for the day.

Ayala Land, the second most active with P505 million, lost by a big 7.02 percent to close at P26.50, down by P2, resulting in the property sub-index going down by 3.44 percent as SM Prime went down by 85 centavos to P33.80, a loss of 2.53 percent.

Holdings firms lost 3.13 percent, industrials by 1.62 percent, and financials by 0.07 percent, while services rose by 0.06 percent and mining and oil by 0.02 percent

ICTSI was the third most traded stock with trades of P427 million as it went down by 2.11 percent to P213.40, a loss of P4.60. Monde Nissin had the biggest loss among the Top 20 stocks with a big 11. 30 decline to P9.81, a drop of P1.25 on its disclosure of a big loss in its meat subsidiary Quorn.

The other losers were Bank of PI, down by 50 centavos to P102.50, ACEN Corp, down by 25 centavos to P6.12, JG Summit, down by P5.30 to P47.90, Ayala Corp, down by P6 to P650, Semirara Mining down by 70 centavos to P32.35, Aboitiz Equity, down by P5.50 to P48.40, and Solar Philippines, down a centavo to P1.76.

There were only four gainers and three were unchanged.

The gainers were PLDT, up by P44 to P1,420, Globe Telecom, up p4 to P1,864, Meralco, up a peso to P311, and Wilcon Depot, up P1.70 to P30. Those unchanged were BDO Unibank at P128.50, Jollibee Foods at P224, and Alternergy at P1.26 though it rose above its IPO price to P1.32.

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