The Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) ended the trading year with a special bell ringing ceremony attended by PSE officials and officers of stockbrokerage firms.“It is human nature to want a perfect ending to a story. Looking at the stock market’s performance this 2018, it may not be as good as what most hoped for but it is also not as bad as some feared,” PSE Chairman Jose T. Pardo said in his message during the program.

On the last trading day of 2018, the PSE index (PSEi) closed at 7,466.02 down 16.64 points or 0.2 percent. Year-on-year, the PSEi lost 12.8 percent.

All sector indices also finished lower for the year. The Mining and Oil index was down the most as it shed 28.7 percent in 2018.

Total value turnover for the year was at Php1.74 trillion, with an average trading turnover of Php7.15 billion per day. Meantime, total market capitalization was at Php16.15 trillion, lower by 8.17 percent year-on-year from Php17.58 trillion in 2017.

Shown in the photos (from left): PSE General Counsel Atty. Veronica V. del Rosario; PSE Market Operations Division Head Rachelle C. Blanch; MDR Securities Inc. Director Amalia Lourdes R. Manuel; Securities Clearing Corporation of the Philippines Chief Operating Officer Renee D. Rubio; PSE Director Alejandro T. Yu; PSE Chairman Jose T. Pardo; Luys Securities Company Inc. Vice President Aurora Shih; PSE Marketing Services Department Head Jose Antonio S. Vilar; and Corporate Planning and Research Head Mark Frederick V. Visda.