Local stocks declined as investors took a wait-and-see attitude given the lack strong domestic leads. Stocks in Wall Street also dipped slightly the night before while markets in the region moved higher.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) closed down 0.65 percent, or 42.28 points, to 6,477.30. The broader all-shares index also lost 0.39 percent, or 15.47 points, to 3,933.25.
Sub-indices also came in mixed, with the industrial sub-sector up 0.25 percent. All other segments ended in the red, led by holding companies. This was followed by property (-0.96 percent), financials (-0.27 percent), mining and oil (-0.26 percent), and services (-0.19 percent).
Total volume hit 1.02 billion valued at P9.11 billion, data from the Philippine Stock Exchange showed. Decliners outnumbered advancers, 80 to 56, while 38 companies ended the session unchanged.
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., the country’s biggest telecommunications company, led the list of most actively traded stocks as it declined 0.36 percent to P2,800 a share.—Miguel R. Camus