Index drops to 6,600 level on inflation pickup
PHILIPPINE SHARES dropped to the 6,600 level on Thursday as headline inflation accelerated in November.
The main Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell by 0.58% or 39.19 points to end at 6,690.77 on Thursday, while the broader all shares index dropped by 0.41% or 15.59 points to close at 3,776.89.
“Philippine shares slid below 6,700 once again with investors selling on news after the November consumer price index came in slightly higher than the previous month,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.
Headline inflation picked in November as typhoons pushed up prices of vegetables, meat and fish, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported on Thursday.
The consumer price index (CPI) rose to 2.5% year on year in November, faster than the 2.3% print in October but slower than 4.1% in the same month a year ago.
This was within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 2.2%-3% forecast for the month and matched the median estimate in a BusinessWorld poll of 15 analysts.
For the first 11 months, headline inflation averaged 3.2% in the 11-month period, a tad faster than the BSP’s 3.1% full-year baseline forecast but well within its 2-4% annual goal.
“Wall Street edged higher Wednesday as investors awaited Friday’s US employment data, with forecasts of 214,000 new jobs in November,” Mr. Limlingan added.
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.69% or 308.51 points to 45,014.04; the S&P 500 gained by 0.61% or 36.61 points to 6,086.49; and the Nasdaq Composite surged by 1.3% or 254.21 points to 19,735.12.
“The local market extended its decline as investors maintained a cautious stance while waiting for new key catalysts,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Senior Research Analyst Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.
“The exit of foreign funds also continued to weigh on the market,” he added.
Net foreign selling declined to P468.59 million on Thursday from P537.32 million on Wednesday.
Majority of sectoral indices closed lower on Thursday. Services declined by 1.86% or 39.33 points to 2,073.69; property went down by 0.64% or 16.37 points to 2,507.87; industrials dropped by 0.59% or 54.97 points to 9,180.33; and financials sank by 0.29% or 6.72 points to 2,255.88.
Meanwhile, holding firms rose by 0.39% or 22.38 points to 5,730.61, and mining and oil increased by 0.16% or 12.54 points to 7,494.05.
Value turnover dropped to P6.33 billion on Thursday with 862.86 million shares changing hands from the P7.96 billion with 507.68 million issues traded on Wednesday.
Market breadth was negative as decliners outnumbered advancers, 118 versus 87, while 50 names closed unchanged. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
