Local stocks faltered Thursday for a third session in a row due to rising concern over the United States’ fiscal situation.
The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index slipped by 12.96 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 6,407.46.
Value turnover amounted to P6.9 billion. There were only 48 advancers against 94 decliners, while 42 stocks were unchanged.
The day’s biggest index lagger was MPI (-3 percent), while Jollibee, Bloomberry, ICTSI and SM Prime lost over 2 percent of stock value. FGEN and URC also declined by over 1 percent.
The PSEi’s decline was tempered by the gains eked out by LTG (+2.23 percent).
JG Summit, which has entered into discussions to acquire SMC’s 27 percent stake in Meralco, also gained 2.11 percent.
“There’s still some profit-taking after last week’s announcement that there will be no US Federal Reserve tapering for now,” said Eagle Equities president Joseph Roxas.
At the same time, he said, the market has grown anxious over the fiscal debate in the United States as President Obama and the US Senate appear to be headed for a showdown with Congress on proposed budget cuts.—Doris C. Dumlao