PSEi closes flat but green post-Christmas

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) barely moved on its penultimate trading day for the year with investors staying on the sidelines following the Christmas holidays.

By the closing bell, the local stocks barometer inched up 0.06 percent or 4.11 points to 6,539.02.

At the same time, the broader All Shares Index rose 0.12 percent or 4.55 points to close at 3,731.78.

A total of 445.79 million shares worth P2.8 billion changed hands as foreigners made net purchases worth P73.1 million, stock exchange data showed.

Luis Limlingan, head of sales at stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development Corp., said the market closed flat as traders prepared for the final trading session of the year on Friday.

Should the PSEi stay within 6,500, this would represent a gain of at least 0.77 percent from its closing level of 6,450.04 on the last trading day of 2023.

Year-to-date, the local bourse is down 0.23 percent from 6,554.04 last Jan. 2, the first trading day of this year.

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Index heavyweights International Container Terminal Services Inc. (down 2.01 percent to P390 each) and SM Investments Corp. (down 2 percent to P882) weighed down the services sector and the conglomerates, the only two indices in the red.

Meanwhile, investors snapped up shares of property firms and banks the most.

Apart from ICTSI and SM Investments, other actively traded stocks were Ayala Land Inc., up 0.95 percent to P26.50; Universal Robina Corp., up six percent to P79.50; and BDO Unibank Inc., up 0.41 percent to P145.70 each.