Shares barely moved on Wednesday, June 6, tracking the muted trading overseas but remaining on the upside in light of slower inflation data for May.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index eked out gains of 0.04% or 3.38 points to finish at 7,689.14, staying mostly flat within the entire session. The broader all shares index also picked up 0.11% or 4.99 points to 4,669.28.
“The Philippines traded quietly, slightly above on a more optimistic note,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile message.
Inflation for the month of May accelerated by 4.6%, outpacing April’s 4.5% to record another all time high in five years. However, this is slower than the 4.9% forecast by the Department of Finance, and sits at the lower end of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)’s target range of 4.6% to 5.4%.
“While the sequential pace of price increases moderated due to an easing in food prices, headline inflation remains meaningfully above the upper end of the BSP’s inflation target. This was also taken as positive today as signs of normalizing continued,” Mr. Limlingan said.
Trading was also muted overseas due to lack of fresh leads. The Dow Jones Industrial Average went down 0.06% or 13.71 points to 24,799.98. The S&P 500 index added 0.07% or 1.93 points to 2,748.90, while the Nasdaq Composite index gained 0.41% or 31.40 points to 7,637.86.
Back home, four sectoral indices stayed in positive territory, while two ended with losses.
The property counter climbed 0.46% or 17.65 points to 3,819.67, followed by financials that rose 0.37% or 6.99 points to 1,894.76. Industrial added 0.25% or 26.97 points to 10,783.23, while services went up 0.21% or 3.19 points to 1,505.81.
Holding firms shed 0.33% or 24.90 points to 7,626.05, while mining and oil lost 0.07% or 6.78 points to 10,145.75.
Some 1.506 billion issues switched hands for a value turnover of P5.94 billion, slightly higher than the P5.41-billion turnover seen on Tuesday.
Advancers outpaced decliners, 108 to 97, while 43 issues remained unchanged. — Arra B. Francia

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