PSEi nears ‘bear’ territory again

The local stock barometer neared “bear” territory yesterday as the slump in oil prices caused risk aversion across the region.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) lost 120.97 points or 1.82 percent to close at 6,521.48. The index is now 1,606 points or 19.8 percent lower than the market’s peak level of 8,127.48 seen on April 10, 2015.

Across the region, stock markets slumped alongside the oil sell-off.

At the local market, all counters tumbled. The decline was led by holding firms and services, which slumped by 2 percent and 2.77 percent.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P5.8 billion. There were 51 advancers, which were overwhelmed by 123 decliners, while 33 stocks were unchanged.

Investors sold down Megaworld and LT Group, which both fell more than 4 percent, while Globe Telecom slipped 3.26 percent.

ALI, AC, BDO, Metrobank, PLDT and SMIC all tumbled more than 2 percent while SM Prime and GTCAP lost more than 1 percent. URC, Jollibee, FGEN and MPI also slipped.

Outside of the PSEi, Melco slid by 5.22 percent in heavy trade after the recent rebound in gaming stocks.

RLC was among those that bucked the downturn, gaining 1.24 percent, while BPI and Meralco also modestly gained.

A bear market is one characterized by a period of sustained fall in prices. A commonly used barometer is when an index has fallen by 20 percent from the peak and remained below such threshold for at least two months. Before last week’s rebound, the PSEi was in “bear” territory for nearly three weeks. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla