PSEi down, but still at 7,900 level
Credit to Author: Tyrone Jasper C. Piad| Date: Fri, 25 Oct 2019 20:03:26 +0000
INVESTORS cashing in on gains led the stock market to end the week in the red territory, but managed to stay afloat the 7,900 level.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped by 0.36 percent or 28.48 points to close at 7,922.50, while the wider All Shares slid by 0.27 percent or 13.13 points to finish at 4,767.03.
“Local shares traded mostly negative as investors digested the release of major companies’…corporate earnings,” said Luis Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corp.
Among the firms that released nine-month financial reports on Friday were the PSE, Cemex Holdings Philippines Inc. and RFM Corp.
PSE saw its net income surge by 30.83 percent to P485.07 million in the first nine months from P370.75 million a year ago as lower expenses bolstered bottom line figures amid weaker revenues.
Cemex recorded a net profit of P874.68 million from January to September — a reversal of last year’s net loss of P663.43 million — on the back of stronger sales.
RFM’s earnings climbed by 10 percent to P836 million from the year-earlier P758 million on the back of the robust performance of its bread, flour and consumer units.
Meanwhile, brokerage firm 2TradeAsia said “shares end lower as selling for other sectors overshadowed the RRR (reserve requirement ratio) cut of the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas).”
The central bank reduced on Thursday the liquidity-mopping tool by 100 basis points, bringing the RRR for universal/commercial banks from 15 percent to 14 percent; thrift banks, from 5 percent to 4 percent; and non-bank financial institutions with quasi-banking functions from 15 percent to 14 percent.
On Wall Street, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 rose by 0.81 percent and 0.19 percent, respectively, Dow Jones, meanwhile, dropped by 0.11 percent.
In Asia, Tokyo added 0.81 percent, Shanghai gained 0.48 percent, Seoul climbed 0.11 percent, Singapore inched up 0.44 percent and Vietnam jumped 0.30 percent. Meanwhile, Hong Kong dipped 0.49 percent, Jakarta plunged 1.32 percent and Thailand slid 1.56 percent.
In Manila, the mining and oil, financials, and services sectors were up, while the rest fell.
Volume turnover stood at 1.38 billion valued at P6.97 billion.
Losers led winners, 110-75, while 55 issues were unchanged.