PSEi ekes out gains despite absence of fresh leads

MANILA, Philippines — The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) eked out a marginal increase to end the week in the positive territory despite the lack of fresh catalysts.

The PSEi inched up by 0.02 percent or 1.18 points to stay above the 6,000 level, ending at 6.072.24.

The broader All Shares index, however, inched down by 0.02 percent or 0.74 points to close at 3,330.35.

Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said the PSEi ended nearly unchanged for the week as investors waited for fresh catalysts to provide market direction.

“Trading remained cautious and thin as participants assessing the global AI sector sell-off alongside domestic economic developments. Market sentiment stayed mixed as investors tracked corporate updates and key macroeconomic indicators,” Limlingan said.

RCBC chief economist Michael Ricafort said the PSEi corrected higher for the second straight trading session yesterday but ended the week lower by one percent or 63.11 points.

Sectoral gauges were a mixed bag, with financials posting the highest jump at 1.06 percent, while mining and oil lost the most with a 2.78-percent plunge.

Market breadth was positive as advancers edged out decliners, 97 to 80, while 66 issues were unchanged.

Total value turnover stood at P8.52 billion, slightly higher from the previous day’s P8.30 billion.

ICTSI was the most actively traded, declining by 1.12 percent to P885 per share, followed by BDO Unibank, which slipped by 0.82 percent to P121 and Ayala, which climbed by 1.49 percent to P422.20.