THE MAIN INDEX barely moved, but with a negative bias, on Monday as investors stayed on the sidelines amid lingering concerns about the US-China trade war.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) slipped 0.04% or 3.60 points to close at 7,867.51, paring down losses that reached 0.6% in intraday trading. This marked the PSEi’s fifth straight session of losses. The broader all-shares index shed 0.23% or 11.11 points to 4,761.24.

“Shares continued to slide, but just gradually lower today after China trade officials cut their visit to the US short, putting a damper on hopes of resolving trade differences between the two nations anytime soon,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message.

International markets were ruffled anew last week after a Chinese trade delegation’s trip to US farms was canceled following mid-level trade talks in Washington. Chinese Agriculture Vice-Minister Han Jun, however, denied that the cancellation signaled a setback in trade talks.

“The PSEi continues to get weaker as investors are on the sidelines on continuous concerns on the slowdown of economic growth and a pending recession in the world’s largest economy,” AAA Southeast Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun said in an e-mail.

Major Wall Street indices ended down on Friday last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite retreated by 0.59%, 0.49% and 0.80%, respectively.

Major Asian markets were mixed, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Topix indices gaining 0.16% and 0.04%, respectively; South Korea’s Kospi index edging up 0.01% and India’s S&P BSE Sensex surging by 3.16%.

On the other hand, the Shanghai Composite tumbled 0.98%; Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.81%; while Singapore’s Straits Times Index gave up 0.36%.

Back home, property was the lone sector that posted gains, ending 1.18% or 47.21 points higher at 4,032.97. The remaining five sectors declined: services by 1.38% or 22.03 points to 1,566.81, mining and oil by 1.06% or 99.80 points to 9,275.23, industrials by 0.76% or 83.61 points to 10,855.33, holding firms by 0.16% or 12.88 points to 7,836.22 and financials by 0.13% or 2.44 points to 1,784.14.

Monday saw 3.35 billion shares worth P5.86 billion changed hands, compared to last Friday’s 2.69 billion issued worth P10.17 billion. Stocks that lost were more than double those that gained 149 to 57, while 45 names ended flat.

Foreign investors remained net sellers for the fifth straight session at P811.60 million, albeit lower than Friday’s P1.07 billion.

Monday’s list of 20 most active stocks saw six that gained: SM Prime Holdings, Inc. by 2.01% to P35.45 apiece; Ayala Land, Inc. by 1.57% to P48.65; SM Investments Corp. by one percent to 1,010; BDO Unibank, Inc. by 0.78% to P141.50; San Miguel Corp. by 0.13% to P75.15 and Jollibee Foods Corp. by 0.09% to P220.20 each. — Arra B. Francia

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