PSEi weakens

MANILA, Philippines–The local stock barometer slipped to the 7,100 level on Tuesday in the aftermath of Typhoon Ruby and alongside a regional downturn.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) lost 46.69 points, or 0.65 percent, to close at 7,183.87. Across the region, trading was mostly sluggish as falling oil prices dampened US stocks.

Most counters ended in the red, led by the cyclical financial and property counters, while the industrial and services counters also slipped. The holding firm counter managed to firm up slightly.

“I think the PSEi is done for the year but at 7,100 level, the market looks interesting again,” said First Metro Asset Management Inc. president Gus Cosio.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P10 billion, including a P1.31-billion block sale on Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc.

The main index was weighed down most by Bloomberry, which fell by 2.52 percent, while BDO Unibank, Universal Robina Corp., Ayala Land Inc., SM Prime and Globe Telecom slipped by more than 1 percent.

PLDT and Megaworld also dragged down the index.

Outside of PSEi, Security Bank (-1.56 percent) and Puregold

(-0.77 percent) also declined in relatively heavy volume.

On the other hand, Energy Development Corp. and GT Capital bucked the day’s downturn, both rising by more than 1 percent. SM Investments Corp. and Alliance Global Group Inc. also firmed up.

Outside of PSEi stocks, Xurpas was an outperformer, rising by 6.37 percent in heavy volume.

Manila Water Corp. (+2.66 percent), Cebu Pacific (+3.49 percent) and Vista Land (+0.76 percent) also gained in heavy volume.–Doris C. Dumlao