PHILIPPINE STOCKS continued to decline on Wednesday due to the absence of fresh trading drivers and after Wall Street ended lower overnight.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) slipped by 0.16% or 9.82 points to close at 6,108.72, while the broader all shares index went down by 0.3% or 11.38 points to end at 3,682.29.
“The local market declined further as dismay over the Philippines’ corruption issues continued to dampen investors’ sentiment,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Manager Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a market report. “The negative cues from Wall Street, the weakening of the peso against the US dollar, and the recent rise in long-term local Treasury yields also weighed on the local bourse.”
“Bearish sentiment in the market continues to prevail as there is no firm catalyst in sight at the moment. Moreover, international developments are also weighing on Philippine market sentiment, as Fed Chair Powell indicated that slow hiring and persistent inflation are creating a challenging situation for the US economy,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.
US stocks finished lower on Tuesday, breaking a three-session string of record closing highs, as US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell said the US central bank needs to balance inflation concerns with a weakening job market in its coming interest rate decisions, Reuters reported.
In comments on Tuesday, Mr. Powell offered little hint of when he thinks the Fed might next cut interest rates. The Fed last week cut rates for the first time this year and indicated further cuts may be coming.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 88.76 points or 0.19% to 46,292.78; the S&P 500 lost 36.83 points or 0.55% to 6,656.92; and the Nasdaq Composite lost 215.50 points or 0.95% to 22,573.47.
Mr. Powell’s colleagues earlier gave comments on both sides of the policy argument. Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said the Fed could downplay concerns about persistent inflation and needed to make a commitment to cut rates in support of the job market.
At home, all sectoral indices ended in the red on Wednesday. Property fell by 0.37% or 8.96 points to 2,394.07; industrials went down by 0.33% or 29.85 points to 8,843.17; holding firms sank 0.21% or 10.81 points to 5,012.23; services dropped by 0.17% or 3.93 points to 2,235.86; mining and oil declined by 0.15% or 18.49 points to 12,275.03; and financials slipped by 0.13% or 2.73 points to 2,065.82.
Value turnover fell to P5.26 billion on Wednesday with 5.37 billion shares traded from the P22.69 billion with 2.72 billion stocks that changed hands on Tuesday.
Decliners outnumbered advancers, 103 to 88, while 63 names closed unchanged.
Net foreign selling was at P370.63 million on Wednesday, a reversal of the P7.05 billion in net buying recorded on Tuesday. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno with Reuters
