How PSEi member stocks performed — August 31, 2022
Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Wednesday, August 31, 2022.
Peso rebounds on China PMI, lower oil prices
THE PESO rebounded against the dollar on Wednesday amid better-than-expected China manufacturing data and as oil prices declined.
The local unit ended at P56.145 per dollar on Wednesday, appreciating by eight centavos from its P56.225 close on Tuesday, according to data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines’ website.
The peso opened Wednesday’s session at P56.20 versus the dollar. Its worst showing for the day was at P56.21, while its intraday high was at P56.11 versus the dollar.
Dollars traded declined to $810.71 million on Wednesday from $1.08 billion on Tuesday.
Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) Lead Economist Emilio S. Neri, Jr. said the peso joined most Asian currencies that recovered against the dollar on Wednesday.
“Some attribute this to a better-than-expected PMI (purchasing managers’ index) data from China boosting confidence that the rest of the region won’t be dragged by China’s economic slowdown,” Mr. Neri said in a Viber message.
China’s official manufacturing PMI rose to 49.4 in August from 49.0 in July, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. Despite the increase, it remained below the 50-point mark that separates expansion from contraction.
The peso strengthened after the latest decline in global oil prices to among six-month lows, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.
Oil prices recovered slightly on Wednesday as data pointed to firm US fuel demand following a 5% drop on Tuesday.
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures jumped 82 cents or 0.9% to $92.46 a barrel at 0659 GMT after sliding $5.37 in the previous session amid recession fears.
Brent crude futures for October, set to expire on Wednesday, climbed 89 cents or 0.9% to $100.20 a barrel, from their $5.78 loss on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the November contract was up 88 cents or 0.9% at $98.72 a barrel.
Mr. Ricafort also attributed the peso’s strength to steady bank lending growth in July.
Loan growth stood at 12% in July, steady from the June pace, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Wednesday, as economic activity continued to recover and on healthy demand for credit.
Outstanding loans by big banks, net of reverse repurchase placements with the central bank, rose by 12% year on year to P10.21 trillion in July.
On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, outstanding loans grew by 0.6%.
For Thursday, Mr. Ricafort gave a forecast range of P56.05 to P56.25 per dollar. — K.B. Ta-asan
PSEi drops on lingering key rate hike concerns in US
SHARES DECLINED further on Wednesday on lingering rate hike concerns following the release of new US labor market data.
The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) went down by 106.62 points or 1.59% to close at 6,583.65 on Wednesday, while the broader all shares index went down by 47.78 points or 1.34% to 3,500.72.
“The local bourse extended its decline, losing 106.62 points or 1.59% to 6,583.65 following the drop in US markets amid worries that the US Federal Reserve will continue with its aggressive policy tightening,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Analyst Claire T. Alviar said in a Viber message.
“The PSEi breached the 6,600 support level ending the day at 6,583.65… on the sustained decline of US indices driven by US Fed Chairman [Jerome H.] Powell’s remarks causing a negative spillover effect on our local bourse,” Unicapital Securities, Inc. Equity Research Analyst Ralph Jonathan B. Fausto said in a Viber message.
“With the US Fed continuing its policy tightening, this puts pressure on the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) to act in response by raising its policy rates… This prompted continued selling pressures which led to today’s 1.59% decline,” Mr. Fausto said on Wednesday.
US stocks dropped for a third straight session on Tuesday as an increase in job openings fueled Fed rate hike worries.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 308.12 points or 0.96% to 31,790.87; the S&P 500 lost 44.45 points or 1.10% to end at 3,986.16; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped by 134.53 points or 1.12% to 11,883.14.
Job openings in the US increased by 199,000 to 11.239 million on the last day of July, according to the Labor department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey released on Tuesday, pointing to extremely tight labor market conditions.
On Friday, Mr. Powell said the Fed may keep rates high for longer as it seeks to battle rising inflation, fueling recession fears.
BSP Governor Felipe M. Medalla earlier said they will need to respond if the Fed’s tightening continues to be aggressive.
Back home, the majority of sectoral indices ended in the red except for property, which climbed by 29.37 points or 0.98% to 3,024.91.
Meanwhile, holding firms declined by 225.20 points or 3.5% to 6,200.19; services dropped 26.73 points or 1.56% to 1,676.95; mining and oil went down by 120.72 points or 1.02% to 11,631.58; financials gave up 14.70 points or 0.90% to end at 1,606.85; and industrials lost 83.58 points or 0.85% to close at 9,739.44.
Decliners outnumbered advancers, 128 versus 67, while 42 names closed unchanged.
Value turnover increased to P8.87 billion on Wednesday with 1.45 billion changing hands from the P5.98 billion with 1.26 billion issues seen on Tuesday.
Net foreign selling climbed to P287.46 million on Wednesday from the P37.36 million seen the previous trading day.
Mr. Fausto put the PSEi’s support at 6,400-6,500 and immediate resistance at the 6,750 level. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
Cebu City does away with face mask mandate
By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporter
PEOPLE in Cebu City in central Philippines need not wear a face mask except inside hospitals, according to a copy of an order issued by its mayor posted on Facebook.
Lifting the face mask requirement is in line with efforts to open the city, which is home to one of the country’s most beautiful white beaches, to more tourists, Cebu City Mayor Michael L. Rama told ABS-CBN Teleradyo on Wednesday.
“We respect the mandate of local governments over their own jurisdictions,” Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles told a news briefing. “The president has no reaction to this as of yet.”
Face masks will be mandatory inside hospitals, clinics and other diagnostic centers, Mr. Rama said. “Those are the areas where we can’t tell people not to wear face masks because these are the areas where infections are brewing,” he said in Filipino.
Cebuanos who wish to continue wearing face masks are free to do so.
Face masks are meant for “self-preservation and protection,” and should be worn as part of a “shared responsibility and mutual respect,” according to a copy of the order.
Local businesses could still set their own rules.
“In so doing, all establishments, businesses and entities are hereby mandated a reasonable policy for the purpose and to implement the same in line with self-regulation.”
“The situation worldwide is indicative that the lethal effect of the pandemic is already wearing off and that vaccination has been proven to be an effective means in containing the spread and the impact of COVID-19,” according to the order.
Under the order, immunocompromised people and those who are sick or who have flu-like symptoms must wear face masks outdoors. They should stay home as much as possible.
The National Government’s Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases still requires the use of face masks.
Mr. Rama’s order came two months after the government of ex-President Rodrigo R. Duterte rejected a plan by Cebu Governor Gwendolyn F. Garcia, an ally of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., to make face masks outdoors optional.
The National Government at that time said it would not hesitate to charge people, including those in Cebu province, who violate health protocols amid a coronavirus pandemic.
Mr. Rama said the government should “move forward” and adopt a pragmatic view in the fight against the pandemic.
“We were never consulted about this,” Health officer-in-charge Maria Rosario S. Vergeire told a news briefing. “A city within a country cannot act on its own. It can’t be an island.”
She said the case is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Interior and Local Government, the agency responsible for enforcing the National Government’s policies in local governments.
“We have porous borders,” she said. “People travel through different areas of the country. If we are preventing infections in all areas of the country with one area not implementing the safeguards, the risk of infection will be higher in this area.”
Ms. Vergeire said the Philippines should not be compared with more lenient countries because the Southeast Asian nation’s healthcare system is different.
Cebu City, a key economic hub that houses call centers, was among the top 15 cities in the Philippines with the most coronavirus infections as of Aug. 30, having logged 43 infections, according to the OCTA Research Group.
Meanwhile, Ms. Vergeire said severe and critical coronavirus admissions nationwide remained fewer than 1,000 as of Aug. 29.
Mindanao in the country’s south “continues to show a slow uptick in cases,” while infections in the Visayas in central Philippines were on a plateau.
The government had fully vaccinated more than 72 million Filipinos as of Aug. 30, Ms. Vergeire said, with 18 million having received their first booster shot and more than 2.2 million their second booster.
The daily average of coronavirus infections in Manila, the capital and nearby cities has declined by 19%, OCTA fellow Fredegusto P. David tweeted on Tuesday.
The daily average had fallen to 862 cases in the week ending Aug. 29 from 1,062 a week earlier. The virus reproduction number fell to 0.95 on Aug. 26 from 0.99 on Aug. 19, he said.
A reproduction number of less than one shows decreasing infections.
The current average daily attack rate in the region was 5.98 per 100,000, which is considered low, Mr. David said.
The positivity rate in the capital region had also fallen to 12.7% as of Aug. 25 from 14.6% a week earlier.
The healthcare use rate for COVID-19 in the region remained low at 33.3%, while intensive care unit occupancy was 25.8%, he added.
Mr. David at the weekend said daily coronavirus infections in the Philippines could fall to fewer than 1,000 by mid-September.
Filipina doctor wins Magsaysay Award for 2022
A FILIPINA doctor and children’s right crusader was among the four laureates of this year’s Ramon Magsaysay Awards, considered as Asia’s Nobel Prize.
Bernadette J. Madrid, 64, was cited for her “competence and compassion in devoting herself to seeing that every abused child lives in a healing, safe and nurturing society,” the Ramon Magsaysay Foundation said in a statement on Wednesday.
She provides medical, legal and psychosocial care for children who are victims of abuse.
Ms. Madrid graduated from the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Medicine and has headed the Philippine General Hospital’s Child Protection Unit since 1997. She has been teaching pediatrics for two decades now at UP Manila.
She was part of the executive council of the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect from 2004 to 2010.
The three other awardees are from Cambodia, Japan and Indonesia.
Sotheara Chhim, 54, is a psychiatrist recognized for his work in mental healthcare in Cambodia that spans two decades. He also provided counseling services to victims of domestic abuse, rape and people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Japanese ophthalmologist Tadashi Hattori, 58, was cited for his free eye surgeries and treatment of more than 20,000 people in remote and disadvantaged areas in Vietnam.
Gary Bencheghib, 27, is a French environmentalist and filmmaker who was recognized for his efforts to clean up Indonesia’s polluted waterways.
He built kayaks from plastic bottles and bamboo to pick up trash in the Citarum River, considered one of the most polluted rivers in the world.
“It is the laureates’ heightened sense of the common good to pursue the life passions that make them illustrious,” Susanna B. Afan, president of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, told an online news briefing.
The awardees will hold virtual public lectures from September to December, and a livestreamed awarding ceremony will be held on Nov. 30, she said.
“The Ramon Magsaysay Awards has always represented the best of Asia and the best of humanity,” foundation chairman Aurelio R. Montinola III said.
The Ramon Magsaysay Awards started in 1957 and is considered to be one of the most prestigious prizes in Asia. It is given to people who have shown excellence in government and public service, community leadership, journalism and the creative arts, according to the foundation’s website.
It said 344 people have won the award. — John Victor D. Ordoñez
Philippines faces twin storms
SUPER Typhoon Hinnamnor was set to enter the Philippines’ jurisdiction on Wednesday night or early Thursday morning, the state weather bureau said.
Hinnamnor, which will be named Henry in the Philippines, kept its strength while moving over the sea, senior weather specialist Raymond Ordinario told a news briefing. “It will have a direct effect once it enters the Philippine area of responsibility.”
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said tropical cyclone wind signal No. 3 could be raised in Batanes, Calayan and Babuyan Islands when Hinnamnor, which had maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometers per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 240 kph, enters the country and gets closer to extreme northern Luzon.
Hinnamnor’s movement would depend on two high-pressure areas, which could slow its track in the northern part of the Philippines, Mr. Ordinario said. “Our crucial day is on Friday and weekend.”
The super typhoon is forecast to slow while moving west-southwestward or southwestward over the sea southeast of the Ryukyu Islands, according to PAGASA.
It could become almost stationary by late Thursday through Friday and could be downgraded to a typhoon category by Friday.
“This tropical cyclone may enhance the southwest monsoon and bring monsoon rains over the western section of Luzon beginning Friday,” it added.
Parts of the Ilocos and Cordillera regions in northern Philippines and the Central Luzon region are expected to experience moderate to occasionally heavy rains by Thursday, PAGASA weather services chief Juanito Galang said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Ordinario said tropical depression Gardo had brought rains over parts of Luzon and the Visayas.
The tropical depression was spotted 1,065 kilometers east of Extreme Northern Luzon, packing maximum sustained winds of 55 kph near the center and up to 70 kph gusts, he said.
“The tropical depression is unlikely to directly affect the sea conditions over the coastal waters of the country,” PAGASA said in a bulletin.
“Gardo will degenerate into a remnant low tonight or tomorrow early morning as Hinnamnor begins to assimilate its circulation.”
Hinnamnor could merge with Gardo, Mr. Ordinario told CNN Philippines. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
Japan donates $2M to typhoon victims
THE JAPANESE government will donate $2 million (P112.4 million) to help Filipino farmers and fisherfolk in Typhoon Rai-hit Bohol, Southern Leyte and Surigao del Norte, the Japanese Embassy said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Food and Agriculture Organization will implement the project that will benefit about 4,000 small coconut farming and fishing households affected by Typhoon Rai, locally known as Odette, last year.
“Many Japanese people feel the suffering and pain of Filipinos as their own since we are both disaster-prone nations,” Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhiko Koshikawa said in the statement. “As we implement this new project, we strongly hope that this sense of solidarity from Japanese people will reach many Filipinos on the ground.”
Beneficiaries are set to receive agricultural and fishery inputs, as well trained in adaptation of climate-resilient agriculture and fishery practices. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan
Manila open to China oil talks
THE PHILIPPINES is open to resuming talks with China on oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea despite a sea dispute, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique A. Manalo said on Wednesday.
“We need to see how we can develop those resources, gas and oil, which especially nowadays are in sore need,” he told the Commission on Appointments’ foreign affairs committee at a hearing. “The Philippines will need it not only for now but for the long term.”
Mr. Manalo said he had signified to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and more recently, to visiting Chinese diplomat Liu Jianchao, the Philippines’ openness to energy talks.
Ex-President Rodrigo R. Duterte canceled energy talks with China.
The South China Sea, a key global shipping route, is subject to overlapping territorial claims involving China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. Each year, trillions of dollars of trade flow through the sea, which is also rich in fish and gas. — NPA
Philippine police to boost presence starting September
FILIPINOS should expect increased police presence in the coming days, as the government anticipates more crimes as the Christmas holidays near, the Philippine National Police said on Wednesday.
“We always anticipate an increase in crimes during ‘ber’ months,” national police chief Rodolfo S. Azurin, Jr. told a televised news briefing.
“We will be deploying mobile forces, even to the point of deploying Special Action Forces,” he added. “Our policemen need to be all over the place, specifically in crime-prone areas.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Azurin said crimes in the country have been decreasing.
The agency recorded about 29,630 crimes nationwide from Jul. 1 to Aug. 25, lower than the 35,237cases a year earlier.
He said police had served 12,699 warrants of arrest as of Aug. 31, resulting in the arrest of 4,035 people.
The agency has recorded four kidnapping cases, one of which involved Chinese citizens, Mr. Azurin said. Seven kidnapping cases were recorded last year, he said. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
Senator seeks probe of school sex crimes
A SENATOR has filed a resolution seeking to investigate the proliferation of sexual crimes in various schools in the Philippines.
Senator Ana Theresia “Risa” N. Hontiveros-Baraquel under Senate Resolution 168 cited alleged harassment and abuses by teachers at Bacoor National High School in Cavite, St. Theresa’s College in Quezon City and the Philippine High School for the Arts in Los Baños, Laguna.
“Do our schools follow the law?” she said in a separate statement on Wednesday. “Sexual harassment cases brought up to the educational institutions’ notice must be resolved in a transparent, pro-active and timely manner in order to ensure the swift delivery of justice.”
“It seems that reporting their experiences on social media is becoming the last resort of students because they may not be listened to or taken seriously in their schools,” she added.
Ms. Hontiveros detailed evidence shared online by victims from the Bacoor National High School, including messages of married teachers allegedly forcing students into illegal and immoral relationships. The Department of Education will probe at least six teachers.
In 2021, several reports of sexual harassment cases, including those from St. Theresa’s College, spread online.
“I’m sure these schools are not the only ones with cases of violence, abuse and harassment,” the lawmaker said. “Often, victim-survivors do not report because their abusers are persons of authority. How many more of our students are suffering in silence? We can’t just let it go.”
Arjay Bartelosa, a staff at Bacoor National High School, told BusinessWorld by telephone the school would issue a statement soon. St. Theresa’s College did not respond to calls and e-mails seeking comment. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan
Court rejects plea to suspend ‘pork’ case
THE PHILIPPINES’ anti-graft court has rejected a plea by a businesswoman accused of funneling millions of pesos of congressional funds into fictitious projects to suspend her arraignment.
In a 29-page resolution on Aug. 30, the Sandiganbayan Sixth Division said the charges against Janet Lim-Napoles “sufficiently allege acts constituting malversation through falsification of public documents.”
“There is no ground for suspending the arraignment and the proceedings on the basis of prejudicial question,” Associate Justice Sarah Jane T. Fernandez said in the ruling.
Ms. Napoles sought the dismissal of the lawsuit for lack of evidence that she owned the nongovernment organizations (NGO) that received the public funds.
The court agreed with government prosecutors, saying the charges were not grounded on her ownership of the NGOs, but for falsifying public documents.
“The charges against her are not based solely on her alleged control of the said NGOs, but also on her alleged specific acts in furtherance of the conspiracy to commit the crimes charged,” the court said.
Ms. Napoles is being tried for conspiring with Agrarian officials in channeling P5 million to fictitious state projects.
Under the Revised Penal Code, any person found guilty of malversation may be ordered to pay a fine equal to the amount of the embezzled funds.
In June, the Sandiganbayan junked several pleas seeking to dismiss corruption charges against Ms. Napoles and her associates.
She is under trial in a separate graft case involving the release of congressional funds worth P15 million for a nonexistent livelihood project in Nueva Ecija.
The pork barrel allowed legislators to fund small-scale projects in their districts that fell outside the national infrastructure program and was voided by the Supreme Court in 2013 for being illegal. — John Victor D. Ordoñez
Fuel fund relief should be sustainable — PNOC
THE PHILIPPINE National Oil Co. (PNOC) on Wednesday asked senators to include a clause in the 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA) that will make the proposed targeted fuel relief fund sustainable.
“We need a special provision in the GAA that will make the targeted fuel relief fund, with a budgeted amount of P2.5 billion, become a revolving fund,” PNOC President and Chief Executive Officer Jesus Cristino P. Posadas told a Senate energy committee hearing.
He noted that the fuel relief fund is just a one-time expenditure under next year’s national budget.
“We would like to request the Senate committee on energy’s support on this particular targeted fuel relief program as an immediate program to help the most affected sectors,” he added. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan