Stocks decline as volume thins ahead of holiday

By Arra B. Francia, Senior Reporter

SHARES FELL on Tuesday as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the midweek holiday.

The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) slumped 0.64% or 51.44 points to close at 7,886.91. The broader all-shares index likewise dropped 0.29% or 14.13 points to 4,783.08.

“The market took a breather today and ended lower after the gains that we saw in yesterday’s trading… Trading volumes were lower as some investors might have already taken the day off ahead of the holiday,” AAA Southeast Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun said in an e-mail on Tuesday.

Turnover slimmed to P5.42 billion after some 643.94 million issues switched hands yesterday, lower than Monday’s P7.02 billion.

Financial markets will be closed on Wednesday, Aug. 21, for the commemoration of former Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr.’s assassination.

Mr. Mangun also noted that investors focused on second liners for the day, with newly listed firm Kepwealth Property Phils., Inc. soaring 49.94% or P4.07 to close at P12.22 each, more than double its listing price of P5.74 on Monday.

The PSEi failed to reflect the positivity seen in global markets, which were boosted after the United States eased its sanction against Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

“Local shares retreated even after Huawei sanction was suspended and China’s plan to speed up its interest rate reform,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message.

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said they will extend the reprieve deadline for Huawei for another 90 days, a move seen to facilitate its trade deal with China.

With this, Wall Street indices rallied. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.96% or 249.78 points to 26,135.79; the S&P 500 index advanced 1.21% or 34.97 points to 2,923.65; while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 1.35% or 106.82 points to 8,002.81.

Meanwhile, Asian markets were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.55% or 114.06 points to 20,677.22; the Hang Seng index slipped 0.23% or 60.30 points to 26,231.54; while the Shanghai Composite was down 0.11% or 3.09 points to 2,880.

Back home, property was the lone counter that ended with gains as it went up 1.03% or 42.03 points to 4,107.97.

The rest declined, led by industrials which lost 1.56% or 173.63 points to 10,920.27; financials plunged 1.17% or 21.33 points to 1,802.39; mining and oil shed 0.9% or 74.99 points to 8,195.12; holding firms slipped 0.75% or 59.27 points to 7,782.93; while services dipped 0.63% or 10.08 points to end the session at 1,579.63.

Decliners outpaced advancers, 117 to 77, while 59 names were unchanged.

Net foreign selling persisted for the second straight session at P351.72 million, higher than Monday’s P182.68 million.