Share prices ended mixed Tuesday on a shortened trading week.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was up 16.56 points to 7,147.30, a 0.23 percent hike.
The broader all shares index was down 6.58 points to 3,805.51, a 0.17 percent drop.
Losers edged gainers 147 to 52 with 36 stocks unchanged. Trading turnover reached P6.08 billion.
The peso closed at 50.375, up from 50.41 on Monday. The currency opened at 50.35 and hit a high of 50.23 and a low of 50 40.
Trading turnover reached $944.35 million.
“The peso exchange rate appreciated after the latest inflation rate eased to a four-month low of 4.2 percent year-on-year though higher than market expectations,” said Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial and Banking Corp.
Ricafort said the “generally better employment data, with unemployment rate easing to a four-month low of 7.4 percent,” helped to boost the peso.
Claire Alviar, analyst at Philstocks Financial Inc., said the market’s uptick was also due to the “better economic data.”
“However, we also noticed during the intraday the profit takers ahead of the holiday tomorrow,” she said.
Newly listed Medilines Distributors Inc. was down P0.57 to P1.73 from its initial public offering of P3.20 per share. Most actively traded AC Energy Corp. was down P0.62 to P10.38. Monde Nissin Corp. was down P0.48 to P16.02. Converge ICT Holdings Inc. was down P0.60 to P31.90. BDO Unibank Inc. was up P0.40 to P120.40. Areit Inc. was up P0.85 to P47.50. Security Bank Corp. was down
P2 to P117. Synergy Grid and Development Corp. of the Philippines Inc. was down P0.12 to P14.68. Ayala Land Inc. was down P0.10 to P35.40. Ayala Corp. was down P2 to P830. – Ruelle Castro
