The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Riza Lozada
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) closed at 7,843.16 on the last trading day of June, marking a 14.7 percent increase for the PSE index in the first six months which market players attributed to the reform thrust of the government.
The All Shares index, on the other hand, rose 12.9 percent year to date. All sectoral indices also posted gains with the Services index up the most, higher by 29.5 percent.
Trading activity was also brisk during the first half of 2017 with daily average value turnover registering at P8.08 billion, up by 7.5 percent from the same period last year. The stock market also had a net foreign buying of P22.04 billion in the six month period.
Market capitalization of companies listed at the PSE hit a record high of P16.42 trillion on June 14, 2017.
Meanwhile, property developer SM Prime Holdings, Inc. also reached a record market capitalization of P1.01 trillion last June 9.
This was the first time a domestic company breached the P1 trillion market capitalization mark. Market capitalization as of June 30 stood at P16.27 trillion.
Capital raised in the first half of the year amounted to P106.74 billion.
“We are pleased with the overall market performance in the first semester while capital raising activity remains on target. We believe the economy will continue to provide more growth for listed companies and attract more investors in the market,” said PSE President and CEO Ramon Monzon.
“The passage of the tax reform bill and the infrastructure program of the government should help sustain the market’s growth momentum in the coming years,” Monzon added.