Bargain-hunting pulled share prices up Wednesday as investors tracked the overnight uptick on Wall Street.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) closed higher by 6.2 points or 0.1 percent at 6,166.05.
The broader All Shares index gained 19.53 points or 0.53 percent to 3,676.71.
Losers outnumbered gainers 111 to 92, with 46 stocks unchanged, as investors picked up “big cap” stocks, accounting for the benchmark index’s gain. Trading turnover reached P4.9 billion.
“Last-minute bargain hunting brought the local market higher this Wednesday. Rising hopes that the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) will ease policy (rates) in its April meeting helped lift sentiment,” online stock trading platform Philstocks Financial Inc. said.
“Services led the sectors, adding 1.7 percent. Properties lost the most, cutting 2.13 percent,” it added.
Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), said the market closed “in line with the slight gains in US stocks.”
Meanwhile, he said, investors were betting on a possible 25-basis point rate cut when the BSP meets on April 10, 2025, and on a potential 50-75 bps cut for the whole year, as signaled by local monetary officials.
Most actively traded BDO Unibank Inc. dropped P2.90 to P153.10. International Container Terminal Services Inc. gained P10.80 to P374. Jollibee Foods Corp. closed up P0.80 at P233.60. SM Investments Corp. shed P8.50 to P786.50. Manila Electric Co. gained P23 to P548. Apex Mining Corp. firmed P0.05 to P4.95. SM Prime Holdings Inc. shed P0.90 to P22.50. Ayala Land Inc. closed lower by P0.30 at P21.95. Converge ICT Solutions Inc. closed up P0.56 at P19.34. GT Capital Holdings Inc. shed P15 to P485.
