PSEi drops to 7,300 level as market stays cautious
PHILIPPINE SHARES went down to the 7,300 level on Wednesday, tracking the performance of most US indices, as the market continued to look for fresh leads.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell by 0.61% or 45.50 points to close at 7,367.66 on Wednesday, while the broader all shares index declined by 0.85% or 34.74 points to end at 4,050.76.
“Philippine stocks slipped along with Wall Street, as investors grappled with ongoing concerns about rising interest rates and processed the latest earnings reports released this week,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.
“Back home, value turnover remained weak as a certain number of institutions were closed over the typhoon, while others awaited more third quarter financial results and expectations of policy easing by the central bank,” he added.
Value turnover went down to P4.52 billion on Wednesday with 1.2 billion issues changing hands from P5.31 billion with 916.59 million shares traded on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the foreign exchange market was closed as the government suspended work and classes due to Tropical Storm Trami, locally known as Kristine.
“The local market pulled back this Wednesday. Investors took a cautious stance as the local market remains without a fresh positive catalyst,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Senior Research Analyst Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message. “Net foreign selling, attributed to the peso’s weakened state and the rise in the US’ long-term treasury yields, also contributed to the decline.”
Net foreign selling increased to P159.24 million on Wednesday from P16.04 million on Tuesday.
US stocks ended little changed on Tuesday, but the Nasdaq eked out a modest gain while investors kept an eye on Treasuries yields and awaited more earnings to assess the health of American companies, Reuters reported.
In a choppy session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 6.71 points or 0.02% to 42,924.89; the S&P 500 lost 2.78 points or 0.05% to 5,851.20; and the Nasdaq Composite gained 33.12 points or 0.18% to 18,573.13.
The benchmark 10-year note yields earlier reached 4.222%, the highest since July 26, as investors reassessed expectations for the US Federal Reserve’s policy trajectory. Traders are pricing in an 89.6% chance of a 25-basis-point interest rate cut in November, according to CME’s FedWatch.
Back home, majority of sectoral indices closed lower on Wednesday. Services dropped by 1.92% or 43.84 points to 2,237.76; property went down by 1.03% or 30.40 points to 2,897.61; industrials retreated by 0.23% or 24.14 points to 10,076.75; and financials declined by 0.17% or 4.23 points to 2,406.99.
Meanwhile, mining and oil rose by 0.43% or 37.49 points to 8,706.62; and holding firms climbed by 0.07% or 4.78 points to 6,190.26.
Decliners beat advancers, 128 versus 71, while 55 names were unchanged. — R.M.D. Ochave with Reuters
