By Denise A. Valdez, Reporter

LOCAL shares were down for the second straight day as investors continue to worry on the Sino-US trade talks following US President Donald Trump’s signing of a pro-Hong Kong legislation.

The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped 29.70 points or 0.38% to close at 7,738.96, as the broader all shares index fell 18.11 points or 0.39% to 4,632.84.

“It turned out to be a sour end for November as the market was still on a risk-off mode to wait on how US markets perform tonight on account of Trump’s recent support for Hong Kong (which could then lead to China’s ire once again and affect the Trade Deal),” Papa Securities Corp. Sales Associate Gabriel Jose F. Perez said in an email Friday.

Mr. Trump signed two bills on Thursday to legislate Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019—a move that China opposed.

“The move can potentially add strain to the US’s current trade relationship with China,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile message.

Investors chose to stay on the sidelines on Friday to wait for how the development will impact Wall Street, which was closed on Thursday due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

Asian markets declined in reaction to the cotinued tensions between China and the US. Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Topix indices shed 0.49% and 0.51%, respectively, as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 2.03%, South Korea’s KOSPI index dropped 1.45% and China’s Shanghai SE Composite index erased 0.61%.

Back home, four sectoral indices went down on Friday: mining and oil by 155.31 points or 1.89% to 8,054.07, holding firms by 31.63 points or 0.41% to 7,630.43, financials by 29.74 points or 1.59% to 1,841.80, and industrial by 4.11 points or 0.04% to 9,781.29.

Meanwhile, property gained 17.39 points or 0.43% to 4,043.60 and services added 1.24 points or 0.08% to 1,546.48.

Friday ended with 1.45 billion issues changing hands worth P6.37 billion, an improvement from Thursday’s 668.52 million issues valued at P5.44 billion.

Declining stocks outnumbered those that gained, 125 against 63, while 48 closed unchanged.

Foreign investors remained bearish, but net buying was trimmed to P425.21 million from P744.16 million on Thursday.

“All eyes (are) on how US markets perform tonight… Dow and S&P futures are currently in the red, albeit by only a minimal 0.3%. Support for the index is at its Oct. 3 low of 7,514,” Papa Securities’ Mr. Perez said.

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