PSEi returns to sluggish trading

Philippine Stock Exchange. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

LOCAL stocks returned to the doldrums on Thursday as sluggish economic data out of China and Japan resonated across regional markets.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 48.93 points or 0.71 percent to close at 6,893.54, negating the brief respite seen on Wednesday.

All counters ended lower led by the industrial, services and property counters which all slipped by over 1 percent.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P6.1 billion. There were nearly twice as many decliners (103) as advancers (58).

EDC was among the notable PSEi decliners, slipping by 4.72 percent. EDC disclosed on Thursday that its geothermal unit Bac-Man Geothermal Inc. had availed of a P5-billion bank loan.

PLDT also weighed down the index fell by 3.6 percent and was the most actively traded stock.

ALI, Globe, Metrobank, AC and MPI all fell by over 1 percent while URC, SM Prime and Megaworld also contributed to the decline.

On the other hand, BDO and Meralco bucked the day’s downturn, both rising by 2 percent while AEV and ICTSI both advanced by over 1 percent. GTCAP, AGI and Semirara also gained.

Across the region, trading was muted by news of higher inflation in China for August even as producer prices slipped for the 42nd month in what was seen as a gauge of rising risks of deflation, in turn attributed to a slowing economy.

Meanwhile, investors across the region also frowned upon reports that Japan’s key gauge of capital spending had surprisingly declined for a second straight month in July, creating concerns on the Japanese economy.

Since the start of the year, the PSEi had fallen by 3.01 percent, giving up hefty gains at the start of the year as foreign funds pulled out of emerging markets ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s much-anticipated interest rate hikes and as China’s stock market rout spooked global markets.

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