PSEi up 0.25% as investors brush off Q1 GDP contraction

The local stock barometer Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) ended in the green on Thursday as investors already factored in the anticipated weak economic performance in the first quarter.

The bellwether PSEi gained 13.89 points or 0.25% to 5,653.16 at the closing bell. The broader All Shares shed 2.17 points or 0.06%.

“Philippine shares traded on a positive note as investors brushed off the contraction in first quarter GDP (gross domestic product) with a possibility that the country may ease lockdown after May 15,” Regina Capital head of sales Luis Limlingan said.

The Philippine economy contracted by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2020, the first contraction in gross domestic product since 1998. 

The factors cited for the contraction were the eruption of the Taal volcano in January, the decline in tourism and trade due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in February, and the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in March.

“The local bourse still managed to eke out reasonable gains with expectations that the country may soon have reached the bottom, and the reopening of the economy is soon and imminent,” Limlingan said.

More than 477.901 million shares valued at P4.856 billion, changed hands. Decliners led advancers, 112 to 63, and 42 issues were unchanged. --KBK, GMA News