Stocks rose slightly Monday as hopes that the US Federal Reserve might soon pause its interest rate hike drive was offset by worries over a spike in oil prices reigniting inflation.
The PSE index, the 30-company benchmark, gained 30 points, or 0.47 percent, to close at 6,529.99, as two of the six subsectors advanced, led by holding firms.
The broader all-share index went up 5 points, or 0.14 percent, to settle at 3,498.43, on a value turnover of P4 billion. Losers outnumbered gainers, 94 to 88, while 56 issues were unchanged.
Five of the 10 most active stocks ended in the green, led by JG Summit Holdings Inc. which climbed 6.47 percent to P51.00 and Ayala Land Inc. which advanced 3.40 percent to P27.40.
Gadgets retailer Upson International Corp. jumped 20.8 percent on the first day of listing after it announced aggressive store expansion.
Upson opened at P2.42 per share before closing at P2.90, up from its initial public offering price of P2.40.
Upson president and chief executive Arlene Sy said in a statement the IPO had a healthy participation of institutional investors, with a significant majority of investors from foreign funds.
“We understand the ever-growing need for electronic gadgets and accessories, and how it invites competition. Nevertheless, we believe that to maintain our market leadership and for a stronger presence, this will be attained by further establishing stores nationwide. Having a robust nationwide network also helps sustain our customers’ top-of-mind recall of our brands,” Sy said.
Upson raised P1.65 billion from the sale of 625 million common shares with an over-allotment of 62.5 million shares.
First Metro Investment Corp. was the issue manager, bookrunner and joint lead underwriter of the IPO. RCBC Capital Corp. was the joint lead underwriter.
Upson said net proceeds from the IPO would fund store network expansion as it plans to open 250 stores from 2023 to 2027, or an additional retail space of 25,000 square meters.
The expansion may also be financed by other fund sources such as internally-generated funds and/or borrowings.
Upson aims to open 50 stores within National Capital Region and key cities in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao this year.
It was operating a nationwide retail network of 200 stores as of Sept. 30, 2022 across wholly-owned retail brands such as Octagon Computer Superstore, Micro Valley, Gadget King and Octagon Mobile as well as concept and specialty stores like Acer, HP, Brother and Silvertec in select locations.
Upson reported a net income of P400.23 million in the first nine months of 2022, up 68.6 percent year-on-year while sales climbed 10.2 percent to P7.03 billion from P6.38 billion.
Upson is the second company to conduct an IPO this year. With AFP
