Stocks at standstill ahead of long weekend

The stock market closed flat yesterday ahead of a long weekend.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index gained a paltry 0.02 percent, or 1.84 points, to finish at 7,958.57 while the broader All Shares index moved up 0.02 percent, or 1.27 points, to end at 4,723.27.

The meager increase was led by the industrial, holding firms and property sectors.

Total value turnover reached P11.259 billion advancing stocks outnumbered decliners, 101 to 84 while 63 issues were left unchanged.

Marvin Fausto of COL Financial said the start of the ghost month has put market investors on the sidelines.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Stock Exchange said there was no change in the 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi), the elite roster of blue chip stocks.

This after the PSE conducted its latest review of the PSEi and sector indices covering trading activity for the period July 2016 to June 2017.

The review of the composition of the indices was based on the previously approved critter for selecting the members of the indices.

To qualify for the PSEi, companies are required to meet the following – free float level of at least 12 percent, must be among the top 25 percent by median daily value per month for at least nine out of 12 months and must be in the top 30 based on full market capitalization.