PSE INDEX POSTS SLIGHT UPTICK

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index posted a slight uptick today after a late charge towards the close of the session led to an upswing in the index-heavy holding firms, and, with help from the rise in the financials saw it close 23.22 points or 0.34 percent higher to 6,942.76 points, its highest trading level.

Market bellwether SM Investments Corp and Ayala Corp provided the glittering backdrop to today's late rally that saw the said stocks shake the turmoil of sell-downs early in the trading session, with the PSE index going to a low of 6,871.18 points after opening a point higher at 6,9218.74 points.

The red signs were flashing everywhere until 15 minutes before the close of the abbreviated trading when investors picked the battered stocks that include SM, which closed P11 higher to P1,057 after hitting an unnerving low of P1,026.

The same was true for Ayala Corp, which posted a gain of P2 to P782 after going down to a low of P767.

As a result, the holding firms were up by 0.73 percent, while the financials' 0.69 percent rise took the sting of the losses in the four other sectors.

Value turnover was a huge P34 billion, with losers ahead of gainers, 125 to 101 with 40 shares unchanged, as the industrials lost 0.22 percent, the services, 0.33 percent, the mining and oil 0.76 percent, and the property sector, 0.15 percent.

The trade today, however, belonged to the second liners as they occupied the top four most active stocks.

Abra Mining had trades of P1.25 billion as it declined by P0.0008 to P0.0046; Dito CME transacted P1.054 billion as it rose by 66 centavos to P15.72; Premiere Horizon had a trading value of P1.07 billion, as it lost 18 centavos to P2.96.

Apollo Global was down by P0.016 to P0.265 with a value turnover of P372 million.

Bank of PI finished at its highest off P88.80 after a nervous downswing at P85.75, while Metrobank closed 25 centavos higher to P48.35 after encountering a low of P47.50 and a high of P48.50.

Market analysts said that the vaccine rollout and its attendant economic effects could signal good tidings for the economy - that the market may rely on even as its moving averages point to a possible decline as per technical analysts' reading on the market.

WEEKLY FEATURE : BONNER DYTOC SHOWS THE WAY IN STOCK PLAY