Buyer-friendly prices lift PSEi

Affordable stock prices, and not necessarily any positive catalyst, enticed investors to buy shares on Thursday, setting the stage for the local bourse’s uphill climb.

By the end of the session, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) had added 0.23 percent or 13.73 points to close at 6,039.76.

Likewise, the broader All Shares Index gained 0.13 percent or 4.67 points to end at 3,659.29.

A total of 1.52 billion shares worth P5.56 billion changed hands, stock exchange data showed.

Luis Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corp., said the index’s slight gain was due to investors taking advantage of cheap stocks. This, especially after the bourse fell to a six-month low on Tuesday.

According to Limlingan, the PSEi remained relatively flat throughout the trading day “as the lack of catalysts continues to weigh on market momentum.”

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Only property firms ended in the red territory as Ayala Land Inc. lost 1.64 percent to P24 each. SM Prime Holdings Inc. declined by 2.18 percent to P22.40 per share.

International Container Terminal Services Inc. was the most actively traded stock, closing flat at P486. Others were BDO Unibank Inc., down 0.22 percent to P138; SM Investments Corp., up 2.03 percent to P755; Ayala Corp., up 0.91 percent to P486; and Jollibee Foods Corp., up 0.19 percent to P215 each.

There were 95 losers against 89 gainers, while 65 companies were unchanged at closing, stock exchange data also showed.