PSE Index Up On Late Charge

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index closed higher Wednesday after dipping to a new low, thanks to a late buying spree that lifted blue-chip stocks.

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Index, October 30, 2024

The index surged to its highest point of the day at 7,280.24, up by 40.26 points or 0.56 percent.

Bargain hunters swooped in before the close, boosting share prices after the index had fallen to a low of 7,184.72 points. Top-traded ICTSI ended the day up by P2 to P415 after hitting a low of P404.40.

Globe Telecom closed at P2,166 after dropping to P2,122, while PLDT, which hit a low of P1,443, recovered to close at P1,462.

Four sub-indices ended higher while holding firms slipped by 0.10 percent and property edged down by 0.003 percent.

Financials rose by 1.09 percent, industrials gained 0.79 percent, services climbed 0.63 percent, and mining and oil increased by 0.21 percent.

Foreign investors initially engaged in heavy selling but shifted gears toward the end of the session. Net foreign selling reached P606 million, with foreign buying amounting to P2.689 billion and foreign selling totaling P3.290 billion.

The total value turnover was P5.8 billion. There were 88 gainers, 99 losers, and 58 unchanged shares. The market remains cautious due to projections that the U.S. Federal Reserve may delay its planned interest rate cuts, as inflationary pressures could resurface.

Among the gainers were BDO Unibank, Ayala Land, OceanaGold, ABS-CBN, GMA 7, DITO CME, Converge, Cebu Air, PAL, Bloomberry, PNB, Security Bank, Union Bank, Meralco, ACEN Corp, and Alternergy.

Also seeing gains were Aboitiz Equity, Metrobank, Ginebra, SPNEC, Victorias Milling, Asiabest, DMC Holdings, DigiPlus, San Miguel, AREIT, Atlas Mining, Jollibee Foods, Century Pacific Food, D&L Industries, Monde Nissin, MRC Allied, Ayala Corp, and Atlas Mining.

Market bellwether SM Investments led the losers, dropping by P3 to P962.50 after hitting a low of P943.

Other notable losers included SM Prime, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), PSE, Figaro Coffee, First Gen, Manila Water, Synergy Grid, JG Summit, Filinvest Land, Belle Corp, Megaworld, AgriNurture, Semirara Mining, and DoubleDragon.

Shares that remained unchanged included Nickel Asia, Philex Mining, Emperador, Basic Energy, Vitarich, Cosco Capital, and China Bank.