by Jan Michael Carpo, Reporter
In a media advisory, the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) announced recently that due to a lack of fresh triggers, investors remained on the sidelines, and yesterday’s stock market ended marginally lower.
The key index of the PSE fell 3.54 points, or 0.06 percent, to close out at 6,230.20. The larger All Shares index also had a negative closing percentage, falling 4.02 points or 0.12 percent to 3,359.43.
Inside the trading floor of the Philippine Stock Exchange
“Philippine shares traded sideways ahead of the key US inflation data release, which comes out tomorrow night,” reported Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital. “Locally, investors’ sentiment improved on the back of a proposed reduction in rice import tariffs and possible pause in local policy rates,” he added.
According to Philstocks Financial, smaller net inflows of foreign direct investment in June affected sentiment as investors continued to search for motivating factors.
The overall state of the indices remained mixed, with mining and oil leading the way, higher by 1.19 percent. However, with a 1% reduction, services suffered the greatest loss.
For the second straight session, market breadth was negative, with decliners outperforming movers up 95 to 79, and 61 stocks remaining unchanged.
At P3.97 billion, the total value turnover also slightly increased from the previous day.
Yesterday’s trade in developing currencies was light and most Asian stocks declined as investors took caution ahead of a crucial US inflation report that will reveal how close the Federal Reserve is to concluding its rate hike cycle.
Along with the Philippine peso, which was the only other currency in the green, the won increased by 0.3 percent against the US dollar to reach its highest level in a week.
One of the crucial data points that market investors will be keenly monitoring to assess future prospects for the US currency is the inflation report on Wednesday.
Markets have factored in a pause after the Fed’s monetary policy meeting on September 19–20, after which the future course is less clear.
The Chinese yuan took a break and traded practically flat throughout the day before retreating to a decline of about 0.1 percent, dragging down the stock market in the world’s second-largest economy.