PSE Index Up But Fears Remain

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index today closed a tad higher at 6,588.28 points, up by 4.63 points or 0.07 percent, but fears remain with the higher interest rate regime in the US that could impact emerging countries like the Philippines.

Photo Insert: The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Index, September 1, 2022

Investors continued to be cautious picking shares that have gone down considerably while pocketing their gains with projections of the US headed to a recession with the rise in job claims said to be a determinant for the economic decline.

Value turnover was a low p5 billion with 87 gainers, 96 losers, and 46 shares unchanged.

Market analysts said that with much-feared R word, the US Fed is seen to tiptoe between pushing for growth or hiking interest rates which will impact the stock market.

Port operator ICTSI posted a P1.70 rise in its share price to P182.90 on trades of 346 million. Property giants SM Prime and Ayala Land had contrasting performances, with the former going down by a hefty 3.79 percent to P36.45, down by P1.40 while the latter finished the day unchanged at P28.65.

As a result, the property sub-index posted the biggest loss at 2.07 percent while the other loser, services, declined by 0.56 percent.

Trading was thin and with a lot of volatility. Media giant ABS-CBN saw its share price go down to P19.14, a loss of P1.58 or 14.74 percent after its disclosure that its business partnership with TV 5 would no longer push through.

After a voluntary halt in trading, the shares opened at P10, went down to a low of P9.04, and closed 10 centavos higher.

Market bellwether SM Investments advanced by P9 or 1.08 percent to P840, pushing up the holdings sub-index by 1.14 percent. Financials gained 0.54 percent, industrials, by 0.20 percent, and mining and oil by 0.80 percent.

Among the gainers in the active stocks were Megawide, up by P1.28 to P18.46, one of the big gainers with 7.45 percent, Bank of PI, up by P1.20 to P96.15, Globe up by P42 to P2,140, Emperador, up by 6 centavos P19.86, Semirara Mining, up by 85 centavos to P41.95, Ayala Corp, up by P31 to P733, ACEN, up by 2 centavos to P7.52, and Converge up by 12 centavos to P17.52.

The losers included DMCI Holdings, down 10 centavos to P9.40, Alliance Global, down 7 centavos to P9.97, Aboitiz Equity, down P1.15 to P55, and PLDT, down by P29 to P1,650.

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