Local share prices still on the wane

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) continued to decline on Friday even as most regional markets managed to rebound ahead of the release of a crucial US jobs data.

The main-share PSEi lost 53.06 points, or 0.68 percent, to close at 7,763.21.

The decline was led by the industrial and property counters. The holding firm and mining/oil counters also slightly dropped.

On the other hand, the financial and services counters managed to firm up.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P6.8 billion. There were 71 advancers against 101 decliners, while 57 stocks were unchanged.

URC, the most actively traded stock, declined by 5.16 percent, while FGEN also slid by 3.33 percent.

JG Summit also declined by 2.14 percent, while ALI and SM Prime both slipped by over 1 percent.

Metrobank, GTCAP, SMIC, Semirara, ICTSI and AC also dropped.

On the other hand, BDO, BPI, Jollibee, PLDT, MPI and RLC firmed up.

Outside of the PSEi, Security Bank gained by 1.19 percent.

Investors are awaiting the US jobs data report in search for clues about the US Federal Reserve’s hike in interest rates. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla