PSEi falls below 7,000

A normal, busy day at the Philippine Stock Exchange. INQUIRER file photo

The local stock barometer fell sharply Friday to close below the 7,000 mark as investors digested the weaker-than-expected third-quarter domestic economic growth while regional markets were tempered by China and European central bank woes.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) lost 136.18 points or 1.93 percent to close at 6,927.07 amid mostly weaker regional markets. The Shanghai and Hong Kong stock markets were heavily battered by concerns on the Chinese economy while trading was muted in Jakarta, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

At the local market, all counters tumbled, led by the holding firms—deemed as a proxy to the domestic economy—which fell by 2.57 percent. The financial, industrial and property counters also slid by more than 1 percent.

“The stock market index was weak on the back of weaker-than-expected third-quarter GDP (gross domestic product) growth figure. While the 6-percent GDP growth figure was robust, market expectations need to be adjusted downwards,” said Michaelangelo Oyson, chief executive at BPI Securities. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla