By Joann Santiago-Villanueva
MANILA – Selling pressure on several large capital drivers in the local bourse further dampened the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) on Wednesday, but the Philippine peso ended sideways against the U.S. dollar.
The main index slipped by 1.48 percent to 5,617.23 points, and the broader All Shares by 0.77 percent to 3,158.86 points,
Services posted the biggest drop among the sectoral gauges, down 4.97 percent; while the others barely moved, with Property slipping by 0.07 percent, Industrial, 0.01 percent; and Holding Firms, 0.009 percent.
On the other hand, Financials rose by 0.99 percent and Mining and Oil by 0.51 percent.
Volume reached 778.68 million shares amounting to PHP6.49 billion.
Decliners led advancers at 103 to 66 while 76 shares were unchanged.
“The local index ended lower, retreating to the 5,600 level as selling pressure on index heavyweights weighed on market performance,” Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corporation head of sales, said in market report.
“Sentiment was further dampened by the IMF’s (International Monetary Fund) warning that the Philippines could post Southeast Asia’s fifth-slowest growth this year amid weak investment and elevated inflation,” he added.
On the other hand, the local currency ended the day at 62.87, sideways against the greenback.
It opened the day at 62.7, and traded between 62.88 and 62.65. Average for the day stood at 62.80.
Volume went down to USD941 million from USD1.02 billion Tuesday. (PNA)
