Philippine's best stocks traded as lockdown restrictions slowly lifted

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) has managed to climb back to the 6,000 level thanks to the easing of lockdown restrictions. The past two months saw the index settle at the 5,000 level, but this all changed last week when PSEi jumped to around 6,025. Most of the shares on the index were in the green after the market reopened.

The jump represents PSEi’s best performance since March when the index fell to the 4,000 level after the government enforced lockdown that includes financial markets, which eventually triggered circuit breakers.

In March, it was reported that the coronavirus pandemic wiped out a sizeable P1.16 trillion off the Philippine stock market. The market fell to the 4,000 level its lowest in over eight years. It wasn’t only the PSEi that was affected as other markets around the globe, including the S&P index sunk by record lows.

Despite bouncing back to the 6,000 level, the PSEi is still down by 23% based on year to date returns. The current levels are quite far from the pre-pandemic projections of the market, hitting around the 9,000 level in 2020.

Below we will take a look at eight of the best-traded stocks on the PSEi since the market reopened.

Ayala Land, Inc (ALI)

Based in the Philippines, Ayala Land, Inc is a real estate firm that is a subsidiary of Ayala Corporation. Having begun life as a division of the corporation, it spun off and incorporated in 1988 before being listed publicly on the Philippine Stock Exchange market in 1991. The company focusses on strategic residential development, landbank management, corporate businesses, shopping centers, and hotels & resorts. It also has support businesses in property management and construction.

The company is listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange under the tinker PSE: ALI and its trading for P32.00, which is a -2.88% change from the previous close with a trading volume of 13, 986,900.

SM Investment Corporation (SM)

Also known as SM Group, this company is a Philippine conglomerate that has interests in real estate development, retail, shopping mall development and management, banking, and tourism. Henry Sy founded it in 1958, and it’s one of the largest conglomerates in the Philippines. The company is the dominant player in the retail sector, with around 208 stores nationwide. Of these, 47 act as SM department stores, 38 are company supermarkets, and 37 are company hypermarkets. The remaining 86 are SaveMore branches. SM Group is the largest company in the Philippines based on market capitalization and has continually ranked as the top company in the nation, according to Forbes Global 2000.

The company trades on the Philippine Stock Exchange under the tinker PSE: SM. It’s currently trading at P940.00, which represents a -0.53% from the previous close with a trading volume of 337,280.

Banco de Oro (BDO)

BDO Unibank, Inc is popularly known as Banco de Oro is a banking company based in the Philippines. It was founded in 1968 as Acme Savings before changing to BDO in November 1976. In terms of total assets, the company is the largest bank in the Asian nation and the 15th largest in Southeast Asia. In the whole of Asia, it ranks at number 116 and 234 in the whole world as of March 2016. The bank is also a member of the SM Group and the largest bank by market capitalization in the Philippines. BDO has the largest distribution network with over 4,000 ATMs and more than 1,300 operating branches nationwide.

It’s listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange under the tinker PSE: BDO, and it’s currently trading at P94.70, which is a -1.46% change from the previous close with a trading volume of 2,942,250.

JG Summit Holdings, Inc (JGS)

With business interests in banking, air transportation, petrochemicals, food manufacturing, power generation, real estate, publishing, hotels, communications, and property development, JG Summit Holdings is one of the largest conglomerates in the Philippines. It was founded in 1990 by John Gokongwei Jr. The company has key subsidiaries in Cebu Pacific and Universal Robina. In 2010, the company was named as one of the top ten most profitable businesses on the PSE.

The company is listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange under the tinker PSE: JGS, and it’s currently trading at P69.70, which represents a 2.50% change from the previous close with a trading volume of 3,838,230.

Puregold Price Club, Inc (PGOLD)

Popularly known as Puregold, this company consists of a chain of supermarkets in the Philippines. It was founded in 1998 by Lucio Co, a Chinese Filipino businessman. Since opening its first branch in December of that year, the company has grown into a retail chain with more than 300 stores around the nation. The company was listed on the PSE in October 2011, and the following year it acquired Kareila Management Corp, the company owns Parco and S&R Membership Shopping. In total, more than 19 operating outlets were bought and converted to Puregold.

The company is listed on the Philippine Stock Market under the tinker PSE: PGOLD, and it’s currently trading at P47.75, which represents a 1.81% change from the previous close with a trading volume of 4,310,200.

Universal Robina Corporation (URC)

This company is one of the biggest food and beverage companies in the Philippines. It was founded by John Gokongwei Jr in 1954 and has its headquarters in Quezon City. The company focuses on the production and sale of branded consumer foods like snacks, beverages, and groceries. There is also an Agro-Industrial Group arm that caters to the production and sale of animal feeds, hogs, day-old chicks, and veterinary medicine. And finally, there is a commodity foods group which deals with the production of flour and sugar, and sugar milling and refining services.

The company is listed on the Philippine Stock Market under the tinker PSE: URC and its currently trading at P123.50 after a -0.40% change from the previous close with a trading volume of 1,506,550.

Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company (MTB)

Popularly known as Metrobank, MTB is the second largest bank in the Philippines. The bank offers various financial services, including regular banking and insurance. It was founded in 1962 by George Ty and has over 957 branches and 2.354 ATMs nationwide. Its focused-on consumer banking, corporate banking, insurance, investment banking, mortgage loans, private banking, mutual fund, wealth management, credit card, and finance lease.

The bank is listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange under the tinker PSE: MBT and its currently trading at P36.50 after -1.80% change from the previous close with a trading volume of 4,691,700.

SM Prime Holdings, Inc (SMPH)

This company is focused on property development, and it’s a subsidiary of the SM Investments Corporation. It was founded in 1958 by Henry Sy, and the company focuses on property, shopping malls, and retailing. Currently, the company has around 72 malls and over 2,300 malls nationwide. Of these, 210 are Alfamart stores, 1,749 specialty stores, 156 Savemore stores, 44 SM hypermarkets, 39 WalterMart stores, and 48 SM supermarkets.

The company is listed on the Philippine Stock Market under the tinker PSE: SMPH, and it’s currently trading at P31.90 after a 4.59% change from the previous close with a trading volume of 5,031,900.