Muted November inflation pushes PSEi above 6,300

The Philippine stock exchange index (PSEi) pushed above 6,300 on Tuesday as sellers took the backseat after data showed consumer price increases slowing for a second straight month in November. The benchmark index rose 0.39 percent, or 24.58 points, to 6,308.95 while the broader All Shares index was up 0.14 percent, or 4.58 points, to 3,352.02.

Inflation climbed 4.1 percent in November, below 4.9 percent in October, and less than the 4.3 percent forecast in a Reuters poll.

Market activity, however, remained muted after the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said it would keep monetary policy settings “sufficiently tight,” signaling continued wariness over prices despite evidence of cooling inflation. Data from the stock exchange showed 622.4 million shares valued at P4 billion while foreigners were net sellers amounting to P182.43 million.

“The BSP might need to keep interest rates elevated for most of next year especially given the possibility of an inflation rebound in the second quarter of 2024. Moreover, the rate cuts will also depend on what the Federal Reserve will do,” Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, PSE subsectors closed mixed with services, property and holding firms advancing while mining and oil, financials and industrial pulling back.

Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. was the top traded stock as it rose 0.86 percent to P2.34 per share. International Container Terminal Services Inc. was up 4 percent to P228.80; Ayala Land Inc., up 0.16 percent to P31.05; BPI, up 0.28 percent to P106; and Universal Robina Corp., down 0.18 percent to P113.80 per share.

SM Investments Corp. was down 0.18 percent to P823.50; Ayala Corp., up 0.30 percent to P661; BDO Unibank Inc., up 0.15 percent to P131.70; Jollibee Foods Corp., up 0.41 percent to P245; and SM Prime Holdings Inc., up 0.91 percent to P33.35 per share.

Overall, there were 94 losers against 82 advancers while 41 companies closed unchanged, data from the stock exchange showed. INQ