Stocks end lower

Local stocks fell sharply Monday, moving in lockstep with the rest of the region as investors sold off risky assets in the wake of the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris, France, over the weekend.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi), already battered by worries over a possible interest rate increase by the powerful US Federal Reserve by December, lost 1.81 percent, or 124.85 points, to 6,772.92 at Monday’s close. This marked the ninth straight decline for the PSEi.

The broader All-Shares index was also down 1.161 percent to 3,914.43. Trading volume, however, was relatively weak with 1.2 billion shares valued at P4.67 billion changing hands.

Decliners beat advancers, 129 to 31, while another 43 companies closed unchanged. All sub-sectors were also in the red, with losers led by holding firms, down 2.13 percent, followed by industrial stocks, down 1.94 percent, data from the PSE showed.

Robinsons Land Corp. led the list of most actively traded stocks as it closed unchanged at P30.50 a share.

This was followed by SM Prime Holdings Inc., down 3.79 percent to P20.30; BDO Unibank Inc., down 2.32 percent to P99.15; Ayala Land Inc., up 0.6 percent to P33.60, and Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., down 1.25 percent to P79.05 per share. Miguel R. Camus