PSEi flat on cautious trading due to lockdown concerns

Philippine shares traded flat on Wednesday, albeit in the green, as investors stayed on the sidelines awaiting whether or not the government will reimpose a strict lockdown amid the recent surge in new COVID-19 cases.

The bellwether PSEi gained 7.75 points or 0.12% to 6,566.83 at the closing bell. The broader All Shares increased by 10.63 points or 0.27% to 3,964.78.

“The market held its ground again today and ended flat on lighter selling pressure,” AAA Equities head of research Chris Mangun said.

“Despite the decrease in selling, buyers were not willing to come in with confidence which is why the recovery in prices was minimal,” he said.

Investors are concerned over the possibility of a hard lockdown amid soaring COVID-19 cases.

“The government just restricted the entry of foreigners and has limited the entry of Filipinos to just 1,500 per day. We expect the PSEi to continue to move sideways between 6,500 and 6,600 until the end of the week,” Mangun said.

“The sideways trend is a sign of uncertainty, the market can't decide whether it wants to go higher or lower, hence the sideways trend,” he added.

More than 4.61 billion shares valued at P6.85 billion, changed hands. Advancers led decliners, 122 to 94, and 47 issues were unchanged.—AOL, GMA News