PSE index awaits monetary setting

Philippine shares barely moved on Monday ahead of key monetary policy meetings this week, with the bourse inching toward 6,500.

By the closing bell, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) shed 0.02 percent, or 1.35 points, to 6,615.16.

The broader All Shares Index was likewise flat, losing 0.006 percent, or 0.22 points, to close at 3,752.51.

A total of 533.66 million shares worth P4.64 billion changed hands, stock exchange data showed.

Foreigners remained net sellers as foreign outflows totaled P495.92 million.

While the PSEi briefly slipped to the 6,500 level within the day, last-minute bargain hunting eventually allowed it to remain within 6,600, according to Japhet Tantiangco, research head at Philstocks Financial Inc.

Tantiangco added that traders had taken a “cautious stance” while waiting for the latest monetary policy stance of both the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the US Federal Reserve this week.

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Analysts have said that the BSP may have room to cut rates one last time this year by 25 basis points to 5.75 percent following faster November inflation.

Investors snapped up shares of banks, led by Bank of the Philippine Islands, which closed higher by 2.12 percent to P134.8 per share.

Ayala Land Inc. was the top-traded stock as it slipped by 1.32 percent to P26.25, followed by BDO Unibank Inc., down 0.2 percent to P149.7; International Container Terminal Services Inc., up 0.76 percent to P400; SM Investments Corp., up 1.35 percent to P900; and PLDT Inc., down 2.93 percent to P1,260 each.