Index finishes flat as trade volume thins

MANILA, Philippines — The stock market closed nearly flat yesterday, with the main index ending at 5,349.97 or slightly higher by 4.66 points or 0.09 percent from Thursday’s finish.

Likewise, the broader All Shares index rose to 3,259.66, up 21.18 points or 0.65 percent.

All the other gauges were up as well save for one, the property subsector.

Total value turnover was thin at P4.032 billion even as market breadth was positive, with 98 gainers against 74 losers, while 39 issues were unchanged.

Justino Calaycay of Philstocks Financials said last-minute bargain hunting lifted the local bourse.

“Friday’s value thinned to just barely P4 billion, not sufficient to support an optimistic outlook going into next week,” he said.

This, he said, is enough indicator that market investors may remain risk averse next week as concerns over the coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic continue to linger.

“Aggregate share prices rose for a second straight week, albeitthe gains were rather tepid compared to the preceding week’s 10.2 percent. This is the first time this year that the PSEi posted back-to-back weekly wins. The day ended with the benchmark toting a marginal 4.66 points rise. Nevertheless, this kept the measure above the 5300-line. Markets across the Asia Pacific were mostly lower, however,” Calaycay said.

He said worries over COVID-19’s impact on the global economy amid the mounting US jobless claims and sustained contraction in China’s service sector dragged most Asian markets yesterday.