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Philippines: Investors shrug off GDP slump; PSEi ends flat
MANILA, Philippines — The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi), the stock market gauge, managed to rise yesterday despite reports the economy contracted for the first time in more than two decades.
The main composite index went up by 13.89 points, or 0.24 percent, to close at 5,653.16.
On the other hand, the broader All Shares index slipped by 2.17 points, or 0.06 percent, to close at 3,413.88.The sectoral gauges were a mixed bag.
Total value turnover reached P4.856 billion. Market breadth was negative with 112 losers and 63 gainers, while 42 issues were left unchanged.
Chris Mangun said: “Our market ended flat today with almost no reaction to first quarter economic growth that came in at -0.2 percent.”
“The last time the economy contracted was 22 years ago, in 1998 during the extreme El Niño and Asian financial crisis. Most expected some growth in the first quarter as it only included two weeks of community quarantine. The PSEi traded lower for most of the day, but the lack of selling prompted buyers to come in and take advantage of cheaper stock prices. This allowed the main index to end the day close to its high for the day,” Mangun said.
He sees the possibility of profit taking today being the last day of the trading week.
Trading volumes fell yesterday with turnover value at P4.09 billion, excluding block sales. Foreign outflows continued today with P302.18 million worth of net-selling.
The global equities markets saw mixed results with the US markets ending lower in last night’s trading session as the ADP Research Institute reported that private payrolls fell by 20.2 million in April, the worst drop it has ever seen since it began administering the survey.
Source: https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/05/08/2012466/investors-shrug-gdp-slump-psei-ends-flat