PSE Index Routed

The Philippine Stock Exchange index was routed today closing 228.55 points lower or 3.38 percent with all of the Top 20 active stocks, mostly blue chips, in big declines following in the direction of the US market, which lost momentum on the much-feared inflation spike.

Photo Insert: The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Index, June 10, 2022

The index had a brief fling at the opening, with 6,73.33 points its highest price point but as the trades progressed, one after another of the blue chips in the Top 20 active stocks with ICTSI, also closed down, after bucking the trend for much of the trades till the closing minutes.

Value turnover was at just an average of P6.088 billion with losers, almost three times the gainers, 131 to 45 with 40 shares unchanged.

ICTSI emerged as the most active stock with trades of P626 million but it too got hit by the sell-down in the closing minutes to P202, down a peso although it withstood sell-downs with a high of P205.

Market bellwether SM Investments opened high at P861 and closed low at P820, down by P42 - a trend that played out in all other blue chips. The holdings sub-index, SM included, posted the second biggest decline at 3.62 percent after the property sub-index which lost 4.20 percent.

SM Prime and Ayala Land closed at their lows, too, with the former down by P1.60 to P37 and the latter by P1.70 to P30 with respective trades of 473 million and P405 million. All of the Top 20 stocks were in the red, signifying the extent of the rout where two milestone levels were breached.

Market analysts see a possible dead cat's bounce next week due to the huge drop in the index today.

The losing stocks were Semirara Mining, down by a peso to P34.10, a decline of 4.48 percent, BDO Unibank, down by P3 to P126, PLDT, down P84 to P1,836, Metrobank, down 95 centavos to P50.85, Bank of PI, down P5.20 or a hefty 5.32 percent to P92.60, Converge, down 70 centavos to P23.30, Emperador, down by 28 centavos to P17, Jollibee down by P8 to P201, Globe, down P36 to P2,364 and AC Energy down 9 centavos to P7.56.

Market watchers see the US Federal Reserve raising interest rates due to the inflation spike that has been projected by most economists. Higher rates are meant to arrest the inflationary spiral but it leads to a rebalancing of the portfolios of investors to fixed bonds.

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