PH stocks track regional decline

Local stocks tumbled Wednesday sharply alongside that of other regional markets as global markets awaited word from the US Federal Reserve.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index slipped by 88.88 points, or 1.32 percent, to close at 6,639.12. All counters were in the red. But the most battered were the mining/oil and property sub-indices which both fell by over 2 percent.

Dealers said the markets were cautious ahead of the expected release of the US Fed’s statement on monetary policy at the end of a two-day meeting.

There were over three decliners for every single gainer at the local market. Value turnover amounted to P7.13 billion.

Megaworld fell by 4.14 percent. BDO, Petron and AGI also slumped by over 3 percent.

Among those that bucked the day’s decline was Bloomberry (+0.85 percent), which reported a turnaround to profitability in the second quarter.—Doris C. Dumlao