Expectations of benign inflation stabilize shares

The possibility of slower inflation in August gave investors a boost on the first trading day of the month, with the bourse rising above the 6,900 mark.

By the end of Monday’s session, which also marked the last day of the “ghost month,” the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) gained 0.38 percent, or 25.87 points, to 6,923.41.

Meanwhile, the broader All Shares Index climbed by 0.23 percent, or 8.6 points, to close at 3,751.41. A total of 555.41 million shares worth P4.89 billion changed hands as foreigners made net purchases worth P419.29 million, stock exchange data showed.

Back to target range

The market’s climb was due mostly to expectations that inflation in August was slower than the 4.4 percent recorded in July, said Japhet Tantiangco, research manager at Philstocks Financial Inc.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas projected that last month’s inflation had settled between 3.2 percent and 4 percent due to more affordable goods.

Conglomerates led the gainers with a 1.27-percent climb as Sy-led SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) and Zobel family-led Ayala Corp. both ended higher.

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International Container Terminal Services Inc. was the top-traded stock as it gained 2.22 percent to P405 each. It was followed by SMIC, up 1.19 percent to P895.50; Ayala Corp., up 2.15 percent to P618; Ayala Land Inc., down 1.27 percent to P34.85; and BDO Unibank Inc., flat at P152.80.

Other actively traded stocks were Jollibee Foods Corp., up 0.08 percent to P260; Universal Robina Corp., up 0.11 percent to P91.10; SM Prime Holdings Inc., down 1.45 percent to P30.50; SP New Energy Corp., which soared 11.3 percent to P1.28; and PLDT Inc., down 2.13 percent to P1,468 per share. Advancers outnumbered losers, 105 to 84, while 56 companies closed unchanged.