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PSEi ends rally on rebalancing, peso gains

By Joann Villanueva

August 5, 2022, 8:47 pm

<p><strong>MIXED RESULTS</strong>. The main stocks index slipped on Friday (Aug. 5, 2022) after rising for several days ahead of the new rebalancing in the local bourse and the release of the July 2022 jobs report in the US. On the other hand, the peso gained compared to the US dollar. <em>(PNA file photo) </em></p>
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MIXED RESULTS. The main stocks index slipped on Friday (Aug. 5, 2022) after rising for several days ahead of the new rebalancing in the local bourse and the release of the July 2022 jobs report in the US. On the other hand, the peso gained compared to the US dollar. (PNA file photo) 

 

MANILA – The main equities index ended its rally on Friday after the rebalancing in the local bourse and ahead of the release of the US jobs report but the peso gained against the greenback.

After a three-day rally, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) lost 1.20 percent, or 77.61 points, to 6,405.50 points.

All the other counters tracked the main index, with All Shares down by 0.86 percent, or 29.7 points, to 3,432.06 points.

Property posted the biggest drop among the sectoral gauges after it fell by 1.73 percent, followed by Services, 1.54 percent; Mining and Oil, 1.46 percent; Holding Firms, 1.35 percent; Financials, 0.27 percent; and Industrial, 0.16 percent.

Volume remained thin at 712.87 million shares but value rose to PHP12.71 billion.

Decliners led advancers at 108 to 66, while 49 shares were unchanged.

Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales, said the local bourse registered “higher than average volume as index funds rebalanced their position to reflect the new constituents.”

Among others, the latest 30-company PSEi composition includes Semirara Mining and Power Corp. but now excludes Security Bank Corp. effective August 8.

Publicly listed companies are required to have at least 20 percent public float to be part of the PSEi.

Aside from this factor, Limlingan said, investors are also awaiting the July jobs report from the US, with expectations that it added 258,000 jobs, fewer than the previous month’s 372,000.

“Unemployment is expected to hold steady at 3.6 percent,” he said.

On the local front, Limlingan said while the domestic inflation rate for July rose from 6.1 percent to 6.4 percent, the highest since October 2018, the latest report “showed some signs of deceleration compared to the previous month.”

He said prices of oil in the international market registered their lowest levels since before Russia invaded Ukraine in February due in part to fears of a possible recession in the latter part of the year.

He added that Brent crude futures fell 2.75 percent to USD94.12 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate slipped by 2.3 percent to USD88.54 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the local currency finished the week at 55.2 to the US dollar, an improvement from its 55.6 close on Thursday.

Its strength showed early on after it opened the day at 55.48, better than its 55.68 start in the previous session.

It traded between 55.5 and 55.15, resulting in an average of 55.294.

Volume reached USD1.22 billion, higher than the USD986.6 million on Thursday. (PNA)

 

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