Share prices ended mixed Tuesday as last-minute buying kept the index up despite a largely negative market breadth.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index was up 18.69 points to 6,956.65, a 0.27 percent hike.
The broader all shares index was up 17.76 points to 4,262.37, a 0.43 percent hike.
Loser edged gainers 113 to 96 with 41 stocks unchanged. Trading turnover reached P5.21 billion.
The peso closed at 48.50 to the dollar, up from Monday’s 48.645.
It opened at 48.64 and hit a high of 48.46 and a low of 48.67. Trading turnover reached $763.08 million.
Michael Ricafort, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist, said the peso closed strong after the latest $3 billion global (ROP) bond sale of the government and after “some healthy downward correction in global oil prices from new 2.5-year highs.”
Japhet Tantiangco, analyst at Philstocks Financial Inc., said “for the most part of the day, the market was in the negative territory due to worries over the risks brought by the Delta variant of COVID-19.”
“Trading remained lethargic,” he said.
Luis Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital and Development Corp., said investors “continued to rotate among certain with funds focused on quarter-end positioning as the month winds to an end.“
Most actively traded Ayala Land Inc. was down P0.55 to 36.15. Monde Nissin Corp. was up P0.44 to P16.04. BDO Unibank Inc. was up P1.80 to P115. International Container Terminal Services Inc. was up P0.50 to P161.90. SM Investments Corp. was up P10 to P1,015. Globe Telecom Inc. was down P10 to P1,830. Ayala Corp. was up P8 to P810. SM Prime Holdings Inc. was steady at P37.70. Ever-Gotesco Resources and Holdings Inc. was up P0.095 to P0.52. Dito CME Holdings Inc. was was down P0.18 to P8.91.
