Business World

SM Prime, Ayala help fuel bourse’s recovery

- THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2019

SHARES bounced back on Thursday as index heavyweigh­ts SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SMPH) and Ayala Corp. (AC) recovered from heavy losses in the previous session.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose 62.50 points or 0.79% to close at 7,927.20, while broader all-shares index likewise firmed up by 28.71 points or 0.6% to end at 4,743.84.

“The PSEi managed to recover today as it closed in the green… AC and SMPH — the two heavyweigh­ts that brought down the index yesterday — notably closed in the green with the former ending 0.44% up and the latter at 3.51%,” Papa Securities Corp. Sales Associate Gabriel Jose F. Perez said in an e-mail after Thursday’s trades.

SM Prime was sold down last Wednesday on news that the Department of Interior and Local Government opposed reclamatio­n projects in Manila Bay. The firm has a P100-billion reclamatio­n project covering 600 hectares planned in the area.

Ayala stocks had also plunged the previous session after Japanese firm Mitsubishi Corp. cut its stake in the firm at a discount.

Regina Capital Developmen­t Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan attributed the PSEi’s rise to regional sentiment. “Philippine shares made a comeback, driven by the overnight regional session, as investors cheered mostly positive earnings from financial institutio­ns amid uncertaint­y from a partial government shutdown [in the United States],” Mr. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message.

Wall Street’s main indices gained as firms like Goldman Sachs reported good earnings even as the US investigat­ion on Chinese tech firm Huawei revived fears about a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite Index closed 0.59%, 0.22% and 0.15% higher respective­ly.

Back home, four sectoral indices moved to positive territory, led by property which soared 3.27% or 125.65 points to 3,957.23. Financials rose 0.25% or 4.59 points to 1,809.23; holding firms went up 0.23% or 18.13 points to 7,851.25; while mining and oil added 0.05% or 4.71 points to 8,803.23.

In contrast, industrial­s dropped 0.36% or 42.34 points to 11,458.24, while services shed 0.22% or 3.45 points to 1,540.23.

Turnover thinned to 1.22 billion shares worth P14.17 billion from Wednesday’s 1.13 billion shares worth P20.15 billion. Stocks that advanced slightly outnumbere­d those that lost 101 to 99, while 51 others were unchanged.

Foreign investors were back to buying mode with P3.84-billion net purchases on Thursday, turning around from Wednesday’s P1.19-billion net sales.

Papa Securities’ Mr. Perez noted that the foreign inflow was mostly due to Puregold Price Club, Inc.’s block sale. The Lucio L. Co-led supermarke­t operator disclosed its P4.69-billion topup placement on Thursday.

PSEi: 7,927.20

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