PSE Index Surges

Investors today trooped back to the market on marked increases in corporate profits to push The Philippine Stock Exchange to a new milestone level of 6,430.08 points, up by 67.68 points or 1.07 percent.

Photo Insert: The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Index, August 3, 2022

With hefty earnings of banks, industrials, and holding firms for the second quarter, investors shrugged off the August ghost month fears to buy up the shares resulting in trades of P6.51 billion, the first time it hit a value turnover above average in three months.

The financials rose by 1.70 percent, industrials by 0.90 percent, and holding firms by a hefty 2.06 percent.

Save for Security Bank which lost 3.57 percent as investors unloaded their shares due to the looming exclusion of the bank stock from the PSE basket, banks posted rises.

Security Bank went down by P3 to P81 with trades of P479 million, the second biggest after San Miguel Corp, which was unchanged at P104.50 on trades of P525.8 million. BDO Unibank gained 4.17 percent to P117.30, up by P4.70, Bank of PI rose a peso to P93, Metrobank went up by 10 centavos to P49, and East West Bank by 2 centavos to P6.80.

There were 88 gainers, 89 losers, and 52 shares unchanged with services down by 0.04 percent as Converge was unchanged at P20.05 and ICTSI was down by P3 to P185, mining and oil by 1.10 percent, and property by 0.23 percent.

The index opened at 6,359.97 points then declined to 6,336.02 before doing an explosive run to close at its highest point. Concrete Aggregates was the biggest gainer with a 21.52 percent rise as it closed P9.90 higher to P55.90.

Market bellwether SM Investments gained P26 to P795, though it had a high of P798 against a low of P765.

Other gainers included Jollibee up P6 to P211, Globe up P14 to P2,070, Semirara Mining up 30 centavos to P40.85, ACEN up 10 centavos to P8.60, Emperador up 18 centavos to P19.12, and Ayala Corp, up 8.50 to P668.

The losers included Meralco down P10 to P312, Ayala Land down 15 centavos to P25.95, and PLDT down P8 to P1,720.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic